Have you ever wondered what Israel means? Israel means, “he will rule as God.” When Jacob wrestled with God, and God called him Israel, He said, you’re going to rule like Me. God is looking for a people that will rule like Him. So how do we rule like God? James 2:12-13 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. Anybody would rather have mercy than go through judgment, but it doesn’t always prosper you to cry out for mercy. If you don’t show mercy to someone else, God is not going to show mercy to you. Verse 14, What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? That’s a good question. Can faith save you? Jesus taught us in John 15 that we must abide in Him. To have faith is one thing, but to abide is a labor. You can’t just have faith. For instance, I have faith that if I put a kernel of corn in the ground that it will grow and produce a harvest. I have faith that it will, but there is still a labor required to have a harvest. If I have faith that the corn would do it, but I don’t plant the corn, I still have nothing. What James is saying here, and it is shown all throughout scripture, is that faith isn’t enough. What you believe, you have to do. Just having faith will not save us. If you receive a seed of faith and think, “that was really good,” but don’t do anything with it, it won’t be of any value. You have to plant it in your heart and protect it so it can produce a harvest. That is a hard thing for the churches today, to first be in a place of having faith in truth and righteousness and all of the attributes of the Creator, and then to bring it to a place of activating it. The seed is quickened. Your faith must be quickened. Mr. Trump said he knew a lot of smart people that had a lot of good ideas, but they quit. They didn’t activate the good ideas, so they never became wealthy. He became wealthy because he refused to quit. Thomas Edison made thousands of experiments in electricity before he got the light bulb to work. Electricity began to roll into Edison’s mind from the electrical charges from a storm. He said if that sky can be lit up in the middle of the night, somehow we can make light for our use. He saw the potential, so he began to labor to understand what was happening in the electrical charges. What about the gas engine? The gas engine was so brilliantly set up that they just can’t push away the concept. Somebody took the idea from the steam engine and created a gas engine. They have improved it, but the concept of the gas engine is still the same today as when it was built all those years ago. Then they went on to create the diesel engine and jet engines. That amazes me. Each of them has their purpose. But it became fruitful. I’m hoping that you will begin to see that the only way you will get anywhere even though you have faith that you can do something is to begin to activate it. Activation is what we need. The argument in James goes on in verse 15-16, If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? You see somebody that needs help and say, “I hope you get it done today somehow.” But then you go on your way. Your faith hasn’t helped that person. Verse 17, Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. You have dead faith. That puts a whole different light on it. Faith by itself has no value if it is not planted. A seed of faith dies to the old; I have a seed of hope that I put in the ground and I’m going to lose something. I’m going to lose that seed. But I have faith that it will be quickened and become fruitful. Every entrepreneur that starts a business has to make sacrifices and put their faith into that business. If they don’t, they won’t be successful. If they are self-centered, instead of feeding the business, they will take money out of it. If you don’t feed it, the faith is still dead. When you have hope in something by faith, and you seed it, you are protecting it. You have to be there and get the business growing. You have to put everything into it. The most important thing in your life becomes to protect and get the seed going so that you become one that prospers in reproducing its kind. If it doesn’t happen, you won’t succeed. Faith without works is dead. If you’re dead in your faith you have no testimony. You can’t have a testimony without works. So, are you alive, or are you dead? Do you have a testimony of God’s promises that are full in the scriptures? Is it in your life, is it in your realm of faith, or isn’t it? Either your faith is alive and it’s working, or it’s dead. Verse 18-20, Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? James is saying that your faith is dead if you’re not active. Not only that, but you’re vain. You’re so arrogant and proud; you think the world revolves around you because you have faith. If you think your faith without works is good, you’re vain. Verse 21-22, Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? Faith was made perfect through works. You can correlate that also with those that are successful and busy. I was always taught that God calls people that are busy. He doesn’t call lazy people. He doesn’t call people that don’t do anything. He calls people that are busy. Paul was busy destroying what God wanted to do, and God struck him down as he was walking. God said, “Why are you fighting against Me?” And Paul said, “Lord, is that You?” And he had a three day conversion in his darkness. His eyes were blind but his heart was opened. In his conversion he switched his works. He began to do works for the Lord. At first people were afraid of him because he wanted to destroy. But he was a worker. He put his faith in what he knew, which was the old testament, he hadn’t yet transformed it from the old covenant to the new covenant. But when God gave him the new covenant he took it and ran just like he did before with the old, and he became one of the greatest workers on the face of the earth, one of the greatest evangelists. He showed and demonstrated how much he was going to suffer for this new covenant. Yet today we have groups of people that say, Jesus died and suffered for us so we don’t have to suffer, but that’s not true. Abraham was justified by works. God wanted to send His Son through Abraham. He was justified because he was willing to give up his own son. It brought righteousness to him because he believed God and he worked out his salvation by giving up the promise so that God could use the promise the way He wanted to bring it about. Verse 22 again, Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? Thomas Edison made the light bulb after many experiments until he understood and it became perfectly clear how to make electricity in a bulb so that he could see at night. His faith was made perfect. Verse 23, And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. God is looking for a people that would heal His heart. The way you will heal the heart of God is to believe Him and activate the thing which you believe. Activate it by dying. Keep meditating and crying out until you understand how to walk in the seven eyes. You first cry out for the love of God to be on you. If you feel the love of God on you that means that there is a relationship between you and the Creator. And then wisdom can begin to come in. Wisdom brings understanding, and understanding brings counsel to you, and counsel brings power, because His counsel brings you into a more perfect place in the thing that you are laboring in. Then from there it’s kingship. You become Israel, ruling as God, knowing that your works don’t count, but His works, His way and His tools is the proper way to have something last forever. If that doesn’t happen, you’re vain. You just think you’re somebody you’re not. Verse 24, Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. So now we add something to our life that we’re not just walking in faith, we’re walking in faith activating the thing that we believe in. Verse 25, Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? Rahab was in the lineage of Jesus. Think about that. A heathen was ushered in to the lineage of Jesus because she knew that God was with the children of Israel. They came to spy out the land and she knew it was promised to them and that her people would be destroyed. So she said, “Maybe if I activate what I know, I will somehow be saved.” She activated that by hiding them and sending them on. They said, “If you stay in this house you’ll be safe.” So she brought all of her family in that had faith and they were saved by that work. Verse 26, For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. You’re either alive or you’re dead. When you die, you are deceased or expired. I hope this teaching in James inspires you that if you’re not doing anything with your faith, you’re dead. Faith connects you to the vine, but if there is no fruit from your faith then you’ve not planted the seed of faith that produces fruit. Revelation 14:13, And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them. There is a night coming when no man will work. When God begins to give the last judgments upon the earth, the temple is filled with the presence of God and no man can enter it. That means that there is no intercession. When God finishes the last seven plagues, no man is going to change His mind. He’s going to do it and that’s it. You just stay in a quiet place and get out of the way. Here it says that when this takes place be thankful that you are killed because God is bringing you to a place where you can rest until God’s anger is finished. Revelation 15:1-4, And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. Here we have a picture of those worshiping the Lord in the midst of judgments, and the judgments don’t touch them, but it does everybody else. Verse 5-8, And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. There comes a point in time that there will be no more intercession by the saints. God is going to release His judgments and once it’s fulfilled then it’s all over. At that point the Lord will be worshipped by the saints and cursed by the wicked and when it’s complete God’s heart is healed. He’s giving judgment to the wicked, not for himself, but for all the vile things that they did to His saints, to His children. He’s not bringing revenge for Himself; that would bring nothing to Him. Those that were slain under the altar said, “How long until you bring revenge upon those that destroy us?” He said, “Wait just a little longer and I’ll do it.” So He’s not doing it for himself, He’s doing it for his saints. Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: He’s done that so that we might rule as God does. We are Israel if we activate our faith and make it perfect in Him by doing the will of God through the seven eyes. Without the seven eyes we won’t get anywhere. Verse 7-9, That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. To the average person that’s contrary to what was just taught. But it’s not of your works, it’s the works of God, because you cannot save yourself. It’s grace, the work of God that saves you. So we’re raised up in heavenly places to sit and to rule and reign with Christ. The ultimate goal of the Holy Spirit, Jesus and the Father, is to bring you up into that place. They want you up there. You’re invited to come up there, but it’s with qualifications, so that in the ages to come we will know the riches of who we are in Christ Jesus. I keep saying I’m rich. Right there is one of the promises that say I am rich in God. Verse 10, For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Your generations of unclean spirits are laboring to keep you from that place. They say, “You think you’re going to make it. We thought we were too, but we didn’t and you won’t either.” But our work is to remove them so that we can make it. We’ve been created in Christ Jesus to good works. From good works, to acceptable works, and from acceptable works to perfect works. So we need grace. You’re going to start out with good works, but the grace of God is there to cover what isn’t good enough for God. We start out with good works and then we become acceptable, that is, He begins to use us in His kingdom, and then the perfect is where He releases all authority and power to be like God. But we have to know that it is His works. That’s why you’re like God. If you try to do it on your own, you’re not like God, because your works are not acceptable. Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. If you are going to fellowship with unfruitful works, it will war against activating your faith into good works. Unfruitful works destroy your hope. If you love the works of man more than the works of God, that shows you have more faith in man than you do in God, which means you are double minded. You cannot serve both God and man, but that’s what many are trying to do. You should have a love for good works if you are born again, because you’ve been created to do good works. Verse 12-13, For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. To be reproved is to be discovered or found out. The Holy Spirit’s job is to show you your sin and the need for Jesus, so that He can take you to Jesus to have it dealt with. The things that are reproved or discovered are made manifest by the light. If you don’t get in the light, you won’t see it. Most of the church thinks they are alright because they never get in the light to see who they really are. If you’re not growing or moving, if your faith is dead, you’re not getting in the light. You’re not at the place of fellowship with Him you need to be. You should be exploding in Him. Verse 14-17, Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. We need to understand the will of God in our lives. Galatians 3:6-12, Even as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. So you’re going to live in faith. If you live in faith and you don’t do anything you’re going to starve. Verse 13, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree: Works of the law is still death; it’s cursed. I believe that a lot of curses will be lifted when we get out of law and are activated into works. When you are in the works of God, you’re in the light of God. Satan can’t stand the light of God. Galatians 5:16-17, This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. When the lust of the flesh is in you, you cannot do the things you want to do. Verse18-23, But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. The seed of faith brings forth the fruit of the Spirit. If you have faith and your faith is working, and seeds are being planted, and they are growing in you, these are some of the things that should spring up. These are the fruits of your faith activated by planting the seeds of faith. That’s who you become. Verse 24-25, And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. To live in the Spirit is to have faith. To walk in the Spirit is to activate your faith by planting the seeds. 2 Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. He’s called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, not according to how our generations have formed us, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Does that settle it in you? It’s not what you are, it’s what He has purposed for you from the foundation. That’s what He spoke to me, and that’s what He’s speaking to you. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works. His Word is the inspired word, full of light, and light drives out darkness. Israel; he will rule as God. But not your way, His way.
1 Comment
|