The Miracle Worker

 A Centurion's Faith and a Dead Man Raised

 Book of Luke Chapter 7

 As we get into the miracles of Jesus Christ, let's talk about the Lord Jesus, the miracle worker.

 The Lord Jesus Christ was also a miracle worker, but we should understand that for the most part, He did these miracles to show the people He is God Almighty.

 Another thing we should see about the miracles of Jesus, He did things that only God could do.

 Such healing of a leper, the knowledge to heal a leper, is something only God can do.

 There is still no cure for leprosy even today.

 It is the same for a sinner; there is no cure for sin other than the "Grace" of God that comes in the form of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We can say that sin is a disease that only the Lord Jesus Christ can heal.

 Another miracle happened when the Lord Jesus gave sight to the blind man. There is still no cure for blindness today.

 Jesus came to this earth to open all our eyes to the truth of our Holy God.

 Psa 146:8  The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous: 

 There is another prophecy that led the Lord Jesus to perform miracles. Isa 29:18  And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. 

The Bible must remain the truth of the Almighty God! 

Isa 35:5  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 

Isa 35:6  Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

 What is the greatest miracle of Jesus Christ? Isa 43:25  I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. 

 Isa 44:22  I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. 

 The religious leaders of Jerusalem had no way to explain the miracles that were done by Jesus Christ without admitting He was truly the Messiah, which they were not about to do.

 They came up with a plan.

 Mat 12:22  Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 

Mat 12:23  And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 

Mat 12:24  But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 

 This is the sin against the Holy Spirit.

 This sin cannot be forgiven because these wicked men had seen that Jesus had performed these miracles, His words, and His works.

 These Pharisees dogmatically reported that Jesus performed these miracles under the power of Satan.

 The miracles could not be denied, but they refused to acknowledge that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

 There will be no opportunity for repentance of this sin because it is the same sin of not believing the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 Mat 12:31  Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 

Mat 12:32  And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. 

 It is a great study just to study the miracles that the Lord did while He was on this earth.

 *****Luk 7:1  Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. 

 We should understand one important thing about the Word of God.

 Once we have heard the Word of God, we can no longer remain neutral; we will be on the Lord's side or on the world's side.

 After the Lord Jesus was driven out of Nazareth, He chose Capernaum as the headquarters of His ministry.

 The city of Capernaum saw many great works of the Lord during His time there, but this wicked city never accepted the Lord Jesus as God's Messiah, and it does not exist as a city today.

 Mat 11:23  And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 

Mat 11:24  But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.  

The Lord Jesus had just preached a great sermon to those who had gathered to hear Him.

 Capernaum was important enough to Rome that a detachment of Roman soldiers stayed there at all times.

 It was this Roman commander who had provided the money to build a Jewish synagogue in Capernaum.

 *****Luk 7:2  And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.

 There is a clear lesson to learn in this passage.

 People with great faith also care for other people.

 Most people look down on our military, but I found that when I was a soldier, most soldiers care for people.

 Most soldiers respect others even when they are on assignment in other nations than their own.

 When we see the word slave, we do not usually see a person who is loved or cared for.

 This Centurion would have had to buy this person for him to be a slave, and he had grown attached to his slave.

 A slave in that day was nothing more than a tool to be used and abused by most of those who owned them.

 This slave had become deathly sick and ready to die.

 The lesson we are to learn is that God will not do for those who have no or little faith.

 *****Luk 7:3  And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. 

 True faith will humble us because we know we are unworthy to approach God and certainly unworthy to ask God for His help.

 We should understand that once we understand we are saved from the wrath of God, why should we think God owes us anything else?

 This soldier had only heard about the wonderful things the Lord had done, and he believed these things were true, unlike most Jews of that day.

 The Book of Matthew said that this Centurion had approached the Lord Jesus.

 The Book of Luke says that this Centurion sent some religious leaders to approach Jesus.

 The truth is, if a commander sends someone with a message, then it is as if he had approached that person himself.

 Both Luke and Matthew are right in what they wrote by the Holy Spirit.

 No doubt this military man had heard of the wonderful things that Jesus had done.

 We had better believe that Rome had someone in the crowds who approached Jesus to put down any insurrection that occurred, but we know Jesus never preached for rebellion against Rome.

 This Centurion requested help, not for himself but for a slave in his possession.

 He sent priests who were the leaders of the synagogue that he had helped to build.

 Today, we do not need a priest on this earth to intercede for us; we can go straight to our Heavenly Father as long as we go in the name of His Son, Jesus.

 1) Once we are exposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must humble ourselves before the Lord if we want to seek the blessings of God!

 Mic 6:8  He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

 What was told to Jesus about this military man?

 *****Luk 7:4  And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: 

Luk 7:5  For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. 

 When we have faith in the truth of God, we will want to know more about Him.

 What we see is that some Roman soldiers did have true faith in the God of Israel.

 He did this knowing that his own nation and his own rulers despised the Jews.

 He helped these Jews because he loved the God of Israel, and it was not a fake love.

 The world hated the Jews just as most of the world hates the Jews today.

 When you are a hated person, you will strive to be better than those around you, and this will cause more hatred.

 We can truly narrow this down to the fact that the Jews served the One True God, and the world will always have many gods or be Anti-God.

 God said: Gen_12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

 Those who hate Israel and the Jews also hate the Word of God, no matter what they say!

 The world rejects that it is by faith that God works in our world.

 If there is one thing that the whole world has, it is that there is always someone to blame if things are not going to suit them.

 This is why there are no solutions to problems reached in this world.

 The Jews and the Gentiles have very few dealings with one another.

 The Gentiles were treated with less respect than a dog by the Jews, and so did the Gentiles treat the Jews. We know it is much the same today.

 Mar 7:25  For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: 

Mar 7:26  The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. 

Mar 7:27  But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. 

Mar 7:28  And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. 

Mar 7:29  And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. 

 This Roman soldier did not allow these things to interfere with his love of God and his faith in Christ.

 *****Luk 7:6  Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: 

Luk 7:7  Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. 

Luk 7:8  For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 

 We can have faith in a lot of things in this world, and most of them have little or no real meaning because there is no real benefit for them.

 If our faith is real in Jesus Christ, then He knows it, and it means something to Him!

 That soldier of Rome had great faith in Jesus Christ.

 We see this Scripture a lot, but it is a truth we can depend upon: Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 

 This is the faith of this soldier from Rome faith even the Jews did not have.

 This faith is believing that the Lord Jesus Christ is the sovereign Lord with all the power of Heaven.

 This faith is believing that the Lord Jesus Christ will reward those who diligently seek Him, and He will use His power on behalf of those who seek Him.

 This faith is believing that there is nothing impossible for the God of the Bible.

 This faith is believing that all God has to do is speak the Word, and things will happen.

 Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 

 If we cannot believe this, then we will never get a prayer answered, and we need to question our salvation.

 *****Luk 7:9  When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 

Luk 7:10  And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick. 

 When God has a great admiration for our faith, He will move on our behalf!

 This Gentile from Rome had stirred the heart of our Savior!

 There are only two places in the Scriptures where it is said that Jesus marvelled.

 Here in this passage about the Gentile Roman soldier and the people of Nazareth, His hometown who had no faith.

 Mar 6:4  But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. 

Mar 6:5  And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 

Mar 6:6  And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

 There will be no great works in our life, in our church, nor in our ministries without "Great Faith" in the Lord Jesus Christ!

 It did not matter if this man was a Roman.

It did not matter if this man was a Gentile.

It did not matter if this man was a soldier who had followed commands, even commands to kill.

It only mattered that he had great faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 The Lord Jesus Christ has the power to do as He says He will do and the power to meet all our needs!

 Mar 11:22  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 

Mar 11:23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 

Mar 11:24  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 

 This is the power to answer any prayer!

 *****Luk 7:11  And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. 

 The city of Nain was only six miles from the city of Nazareth, and this distance could be walked in less than a day.

 This is the same area where Elisha had raised the son of a Shunammite woman, so this area had seen the power of God.

 There were many witnesses to this resurrection because it was a funeral procession.

 Many unbelievers had followed the Lord Jesus from Nazareth.

 The disciples of Jesus were with Him.

 The timing of the arrival of the Lord Jesus was perfect.

 *****Luk 7:12  Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and many people of the city were with her. 

Luk 7:13  And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 

 We have stated before that for a woman to be left on her own in this day, it would be hard for her to survive.

 The women of that day were homemakers, while the husband and sons, if she had one, would provide for the home.

 We saw she was a widow, so her husband had already passed.

 In typology, Israel is a widow without a husband today because the Jews still reject the Lord of Glory.

 She is now attending the funeral of her only begotten son.

 All of Israel's hope lies in the only Begotten Son of God, the Son who will die for their sins as He did for all sinners. They must first admit that they are sinners.

 Was this the reason that the Lord Jesus had compassion on her? It was at least part of it.

 The crowd of people attending the funeral and the crowd of people following the Lord Jesus Christ all met together at the gates of the city.

 The crowd of the city walks with death.

 The crowd with Jesus walks with Life.

 What we will witness is that death will lose to the Giver of Life.

 Death has the last word for the unbeliever.

Life has the last word for the believer.

 Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

 When death meets the Lord Jesus Christ, death will have to give way to Life!

 Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. 

 The Lord Jesus was touched by this whole scene. This mother was a type of the love that God has for His children.

 We should also notice that no one had asked the Lord Jesus for help.

 We see that God does act sometimes out of His own compassion. Why?

 Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

 Compassion is a mix of passion, love, and sorrow.

 *****Luk 7:14  And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 

Luk 7:15  And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. 

 A bier was a flat wooden frame on which the body of the dead was carried from the house to the grave.

 The body of the Lord Jesus would lie on such a bier in a couple of years in Jerusalem.

 We know that contact with a dead body was forbidden by the Laws of Moses as a source of defilement.

 Num 19:11  He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. 

 Though God can do as He pleases, the Lord Jesus did not touch the body of this young man but only touched the bier, as written by Luke.

 Jesus then spoke: Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

 1) The Lord Jesus did have the power to bypass traditional beliefs. The Lord Jesus Christ possesses the right and the power to override all religious laws and beliefs and over life and death as our Creator, but He would never go against the written Word of God.

 2) The Lord Jesus Christ has the power to stop the death processional. The pallbearers stopped without Jesus saying a word to them.

 3) The Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who has the power to raise the dead. He commanded life to return to this young man. 

Joh 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 

Joh 5:25  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 

Joh 5:26  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 

Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 

Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. 

We should understand that everyone who was raised from the dead by Jesus while he was first on this earth later died again.

 The Lord Jesus Christ tells us exactly what will happen after the death of the believer and the death of the unbeliever.

 The souls of the believers will return with Christ.

 The souls of the unbeliever will be reunited with their mangled bodies in the Burning Lake of Fire.

 *****Luk 7:16  And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. 

Luk 7:17  And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about. 

 These people in Nain had never seen such a thing as this.

The disciples of Christ had never seen such a thing as this.

All those who were following the Lord as spies for the religious had never seen such a thing as this resurrection of the dead.

 Many of them had a great fear of what they saw.

 This was a fear of reverence and awe. This is the same fear that we all should have.

 Jhn_6:48  I am that bread of life.

 Jhn_14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

As far as the human body is concerned, death has the last word.

As far as the Christian is concerned, death is the next step into God's Heaven.

When death is confronted with life, death loses.

Death has no right to the body of a Christian!

1Th_4:14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

There was only one thing left to do, and this was to glorify God.

All those present all knew one thing, and it was that only the Living God had the power to raise the dead back to life.

The Lord Jesus was not asked for any help.

The Lord Jesus saw this poor mother and had compassion upon her.

We serve a compassionate and loving God who can be touched by the suffering of His people.

Our God is the only source of true consolation.

The Lord's compassion is followed up with His "Grace".  The free, unmerited love and favor of God is the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from Him.

Why did God send His Son to save us to begin with? Because He had compassion on us and was willing to show His Grace to us.

Those words "God hath visited His people" mean they should have recognized that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, but they did not have enough faith, and even this little faith did not last long.

They began to see the Lord Jesus as only a Prophet of God, though He was a Prophet, He was so much more than a Prophet. He was God's Son.

Luk 19:41  And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 

Luk 19:42  Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 

Luk 19:43  For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 

Luk 19:44  And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. 

The Muslims and other religions call Him Prophet, but I call Him Savior. I call Him God!

We can look forward to the Rapture of the Church or the day after our death when we hear the voice of the Lord calling us home.

1Th 4:13  But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 

1Th 4:14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 

1Th 4:15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 

1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 

Amen

Living For the Lord Jesus

 A Living Faith in the Life of the Church

Book of James Chapter 2

As our first lesson discussed, the fact that we face temptations and trials every day.

One the greatest trials we face today is that of showing favoritism or partiality or discriminating against people.

Our world is caught up in the middle of this crisis today and as is normal the world chooses the side of sin.

Remember the Lord says, "to come as you are"!

This means every person upon this world can come to the Lord Jesus Christ just as they are.

It is then when we give in to the Lord that the Holy Spirit will begin His work in us.

These things are the main headlines in our nation today and the cause of many of the problems we face in America and throughout this world.

We must clearly understand that there are only two types of people in this world and they are those who are saved and those who are lost.

The color of their skin, the way they dress, nor whether they are rich or poor, have anything to do with it.

It is only if they have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ or not.

By the way, as Christians we have become the greatest enemy to our government today because we refuse to fall in line with their policies and the policies of this world.

*Jas 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

Showing partiality means to favor some people over others or to pay special attention to a person because of his wealth, social standing, position, authority, popularity, looks or influence.

James has addressed this message to the Church and we need to be active in obedience to it because it came by the Holy Spirit, from our Heavenly Father.

What is going on in the world we cannot solve, but we can solve these issues in the Church.

The Church is to always be obedient to the Word of God which will never change because says He will never change.

Those in the world are the lost and we need to reach out to them with the message of Christ and we cannot expect them to act in a way suitable to the Lord.

Those in the Church who get caught up in this foolishness are the ones we need to address.

Our number one job is to be obedient to all the Word of God.

Our last lesson stated: Jas_1:22 But be ye "doers of the word", and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Of all the people upon this earth, the people who should never show partiality are believers!

Everyone in the Church stands on equal ground with the Lord Jesus Christ!

Everyone that knows the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, bow before Him As Lord.

All those who refuse to do so, the lost, are those same ones that we must pray for their salvation!

When we bow before the Lord, it is as a servant or a slave, all with equal standing!

The Lord Jesus throughout His short lifetime was no respecter of persons.

Mat 22:16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.

Every Christian will share the same glory of the Lord when He returns to take us to our home in Heaven.

So, we cannot allow these things to become part of the Church and we cannot expect those who are lost outside the Church to act any different than they do because they do not know Jesus!

We must pray for them, but the ones we need to reach are those who have not heard the Gospel or have only heard lies about the Gospel.

When we stand before the Lord no matter what we think of ourselves we can only see His glory which we cannot compare ourselves with because of His infinite glory.

On any given day we can expect many different people to step into the sanctuary of the Lord.

We must immediately show them the love of Christ!

*Jas 2:2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; Jas 2:3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

In the time of James a man with a gold ring probably had several gold rings because it was rare for any of those people to even come into the Church, unlike today when many wear gold rings for many reasons, marriage being one of those reasons.

Many a person with no gold rings or even goodly apparel would enter into the Church to hear the wisdom of Jesus Christ and not much fanfare was made over those, unlike the attention that the man with the gold rings would attract.

This is showing partiality and it is sin.

When we see that phrase "weareth gay clothing" it just seems to fit in with the things going on in our nation.

The fact is that if such a person comes into the doors of the Church, we should welcome them as we would anyone else.

They also have a soul that is valuable to the Lord!

If their actions prove to be against the Church, then we should ask them to leave as much as we would anyone who is not civil in God's House of Prayer, but we must refrain from being the cause of their actions.

If they refuse to leave, then we may have to get help to get them removed without causing harm to the Church.

We must allow the Word of God to convict them just as it has done to each of us.

Any house of worship that has specific good places for those who seem to be of high rank and bad places for the poor to sit, is not a Church!

Every Sunday there could be those who represent the extreme ends of wealth and poverty. If partiality is not to be shown in this case, then partiality should never be shown in any case.

In the Church there must be no distinctions, no distinctions of social class, standing, position, wealth, prestige, or recognition.

We should ask ourselves how many times a poor person has visited our Church and not been welcomed with open arms.

My church is mostly white so let us ask ourselves, how many times has a black person or a brown person come into our church and not be welcomed with open arms.

Since I have been at my church for over twenty years, I have not seen any rejected of any color, but I also know we can improve because the future that is front of us will weed out the true Church from the false church.

We must never think we cannot improve as a church!

We have the message of truth and a Pastor to preaches it.

We have loving people who show it.

We have prayer warriors who can make it happen.

We serve the one Lord of Salvation that says, "come as you are".

We will never feel uncomfortable around those we show the love of Jesus Christ!

*Jas 2:4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

Jas 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

When we show partiality, we have set ourselves up as a judge!

When we become a judge, then we think of ourselves as God!

We are saying that we can judge better than our Heavenly Father!

We judge by what we can see, but we cannot see into their hearts, but God can!

We do not know what is on their minds, but God does!

So we do not qualify as a judge in the Church of the Living God!

When we focus on the outward appearance of someone, we cannot focus on that person who possesses a soul that the Lord Jesus came to save.

Material things upon this earth will never be as important as the humans that live upon this earth!

Much of the world has forgotten this today!

The purpose of every human being upon this earth is to serve the Lord and make the fullest contribution to society. We can only do both by being in the family of God!

We are not put here to despise anyone!

*Jas 2:6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?

Jas 2:7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

Who are we to despise the poor?

When we despise the poor, we are showing contempt.

I do not know anyone in our church who is considered to be rich. In fact, Gethsemane is the most down to earth church that I know and I know there are other true churches.

Very seldom do the poor cause problems for anyone.

It is the rich and the high and mighty that oppress the poor and take from anyone if they get the chance to.

It is the rich and the high and mighty who will take advantage of every law to cause more problems for the poor.

No matter what our government tells us, the rich just get richer because it is they who make the laws.

The poor are getting poorer and the middle class is disappearing!

Why in the world would we try to impress the rich or show partiality to them?

The rich are those same ones who make themselves lords over us all!

Even the Lord Jesus cautioned us on this thing.

Mat 20:25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

Mat 20:26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

Mat 20:27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

It is the rich of this world who have placed themselves above the Word of God.

It is the rich of this world who have shown that they are the enemies of the Church today, and it is sickening to watch the world bow to them and grovel at their feet.

To grovel is to beg like a hungry dog.

We do not need any of this in the Church because the Church is a place to worship the Lord and we all stand on level ground in the Church.

What we see today is that everyone has been taught how to criticize.

In America today, everyone criticizes everyone else and the Church gets dragged into the middle of it when the Lord says to avoid it.

I have been guilty myself.

Let us just pray for the salvation of the lost and use the power of discernment to make the right decisions in our own lives and serve the Lord according to the Word of God.

*Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

Jas 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

What is royal law?

The royal law came from King Jesus!

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.

Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

A neighbor is today considered to be those who live closest to us, but this is not at all that the Lord Jesus means.

Our neighbors are all those who are connected with us in the bonds of humanity, and the love of God in us requires that we treat them all as friends.

The Lord Jesus means, that the entire world is to be considered our neighbors!

The Lord Jesus means, that we must not do to others that thing we would not do to ourselves.

A good example would be the parable of the good Samaritan.

It is a sin to show partiality!

James was speaking to Jewish people who knew the Laws of Moses, and James reminded them that the Laws of Moses directly forbade all respect of persons.

He also reminded them that it they broke one of the Laws of Moses, they were guilty of them all.

If we say we love the Lord and then, not show that same love to all others, then we are not being like the Lord Jesus Christ and if we are not being like the Lord Jesus Christ, then we are not being Christians.

This is the message James was giving to the Jewish Christians and to all Christians no matter their so-called race!

God does not see race; He only sees humans!

The Lord Jesus said if we could keep the Royal Law the Laws of King Jesus, then we will be keeping all the laws of Moses and all the laws of God.

If we could just love like Jesus loves, this world would already seem like Paradise.

*Jas 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

Some think faith is just believing the truth of Jesus Christ when in reality we show our faith by our conviction in action.

We show faith in our conduct in this world.

Head faith cannot save anybody!

We should ask ourselves, "is our faith moving us in the right direction"?

We could say that the greatest tragedy in the Church, is people who confess faith in Jesus Christ yet, they do not live for Him!

Millions profess Christ and are baptized and confirmed and made members of the Church, but they do not follow the Word of God, nor do they live for Christ Jesus.

Are they saved, it is between them and God, but the Lord Jesus said to deny ourselves and to pick up our own cross and follow Him.

Our faith must be more than a faith of speech, our faith must include our behavior and how we live our lives.

It should also include giving what we have in an effort to reach the lost!

A dead faith does not help anyone!

*Jas 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

Jas 2:16 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?

Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

We must understand that our faith must be more than just sharing words of comfort!

There must be action in our faith!

When a brother or sister has a need, we must offer more than words of comfort, we must try to get the things they need for them.

Now James is talking about the Church and the members of that Church.

This does not mean we are not to help the lost, but helping the lost must include evangelism.

True faith begins with the Love of the Lord who cares for and is compassionate for all those who are in need by providing that need when we are able.

Now this does not change the fact that we are saved by faith without the works of those old Laws of Moses.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

There is no contradiction between these Scriptures they both tell the truth of God.

True faith cannot subsist without works after our salvation!

There is empty faith and there is faith working by love, which is being like the Lord Jesus Christ.

*Jas 2:18 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.

So many believe they are saved by faith and God accepts them because they believe in Jesus Christ regardless of if they fail to live for Christ and this is between them and God.

Once they have first believed in Christ then, in obedience to Him, professed Him before the church, and been baptized and joined the Church, God has accepted them and will take them to Heaven when they die and this is the truth.

I personally believe we can know we are saved when we are doing these very things.

I also believe we have an obligation to follow in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ and it is these who do so who are called Christian.

What does the Lord Jesus say?

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

We must ask ourselves, then what is the will of our Heavenly Father after He has saved us?

The Lord goes on further to say:

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Jesus goes on to say all those who hear His Words and Does Them, are the same ones who are wise Christians.

Those who hear the Words of Jesus and do nothing else are then, the opposite of wise.

Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

The Lord Jesus is saying we are fools if we are not following Him, doing the things that He did, with all their heart.

James says show me your faith without thy works and I will show you my faith by my works.

These things sound tough, but the Word of God is always right.

*Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Jas 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

James says that even the devils and the demons and even Satan have head faith and are convicted with the fear of God, but they still follow Satan knowing they will spend eternity in Hell.

We need to ask ourselves; do we have more faith than the devils do? They not only believe, but they tremble knowing this truth because they cannot be saved.

The faith that they have cannot save them!

The question we must ask is, do we just have a head faith or a faith that knows our work is outside the Church and it consists mainly of reaching out to those in the world who do not have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

We need to be working on our relationship with Christ at all times!

What was the purpose of Jesus Christ?

Joh 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

Joh 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

Joh 4:36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

Joh 4:37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

Joh 4:38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

We are to enter into the labor of all those who are Christian and who have gone before us.

This was the will of God for His Son and it is the will of the Lord for us after we are saved.

This takes more than just Head Faith!

Why are we hated today?

Joh 15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

Joh 15:23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.

Joh 15:24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.

Joh 15:25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

It is the Gospel that points to sinners and they cannot hide their sin from the eyes of God!

It is because the work we are to do, is to show those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ that they have no cloak to hide their sin.

We have a work to do after we are saved, and it begins by studying the Word of God so we can give them the truth of salvation!

Amen