4 Biblical Keys to Active Faith

I was doing my usual yard work recently, driving my zero-turn mower under a tree I'd been going under for four months. This week, as I'm going along, I had faith that the tree would not hit me. I was in faith. And man, that tree hit me upside my head. You know that feeling when you get a good hit on the head and it goes right down your spine? Boom.

I said to myself, "Self, you've been in faith for this tree not to hit you, but you never did the work to cut it." Faith without works is dead.

Around the same time, my doctor called and said, "Jomo, come for your mid-year checkup." I got on the scale before the appointment. I did my usual. I got pretty close to the weight where they didn't talk about me. I go to the doctor's office, and there were four church members in the lobby. I'm like, this is too many people in the doctor's office. You know when you go to the doctor's office, you kind of want nobody to know you're there.

I go back to see the new nurse I'd never met before. She says, "Okay, this is good. You're doing good." I said, "Praise the Lord." She says, "You are? You're a pastor?" "Yeah." "Well, I'm happy that you do what you say."

I said, "I'm so glad I made my numbers this week." Because see, what happens? You can't tell somebody to do what you're not willing to do, because now you're a hypocrite.

Faith without works is dead.

The Question That Changes Everything

James 2:14 asks: "What is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no good works [as evidence]? Can that kind of faith save him?"

Now, who's he talking to? He's talking to you. There's a different kind of faith. A mere claim of faith is not sufficient. Genuine faith produces good works.

So what you're saying is faith should have a final product? You can't tell me you're in faith and I haven't seen you change yet. Faith should have some changes to it.

If you used to cuss me out, you should cuss me out less. I didn't say you stopped cussing. You're just cussing me out less. You're getting better.

If I say I'm in faith, people should see evidential evidence that I have changed. You can't be in faith and still be raggedy. There should be something in your life that says, "You know what? You're different now."

Those closest to you will take a little bit longer to notice, but I should have some evidence. Meaning faith should have a corresponding action. Because if it doesn't have an action connected to it, you're not in faith. Because faith moves. Faith is an action word.

So if you're in faith, I should see something changing, something moving in your life. If your life remains the same, I got to check whether you're in faith.

Let Your Light Shine

Matthew 5:16 says: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Y'all remember the song in church: "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine." Your light should shine so that people can see it.

1 John 1:5 says: "God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all."

When we let our light shine, His deposit of light in us should reflect light. And if I'm not reflecting light, I'm reflecting darkness. So everywhere I go, I should bring light. What does light bring? Revelation. Joy. You should bring light. So with your faith, you should have light.

We Are His Workmanship

Ephesians 2:10 says: "For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready] to be used for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us]."

Let me break this down. It says workmanship, master work, work, work, work, work. Now here's what blew my mind: Listen, "which God prepared for us beforehand." He said this already. So that we would walk in them, living the good life which was prearranged and made ready.

God has a prearranged plan. Before the world was formed, He had a work for you to do. When you find your work, you'll never work again. Because see, when you're in the will, what you do comes naturally. You would do it for free.

Because I'm in the work God's called me to, my eyes see things others don't see. Because I'm where God has called me to be.

The two most important days in a person's life is the day they were born and the day they found out why they were born. Why did God make me? What's the work He has for me?

Jeremiah 1:5 says: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you."

So if God already knows me, wouldn't it be my responsibility to say, "Father God, help me with me. What am I supposed to be doing with my life?" There is a work that you have to do, and your goal in life should be: "Lord, help me to find the work that You prearranged for me to do."

Because we all want to stand before God one day and say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord."

1 Timothy 6:18 says: "Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share."

You got work to do. You got work to do.

The First Test: How Do You Handle the Poor?

James 2:15-17 says: "If a brother or sister is without adequate clothing and lacks enough food for each day, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace [with my blessing], keep warm and feed yourselves,' but he does not give them the necessities for the body, what good does that do? So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective]."

So what is he saying? You see somebody who has no food to eat, and you say, "I'm going to pray for you. In the name of Jesus, I pray manna come from heaven right now," versus saying, "Here's a hamburger."

You see a person who has no clothes, and you say, "You know what? I'm going to pray that God strikes an animal down and the animal carcass comes off of them," versus saying, "Listen, man, I'm going to go to Walmart. I'm going to buy you a shirt."

So what's he saying? The first reflection of faith is how you handle the poor. The first ingredient. He says if you have true faith, how you handle the poor is a reflection of your faith.

Proverbs 19:17 cements my point: "He who is gracious and lends a hand to the poor lends to the Lord, and the Lord will repay him for his good deed."

So when I'm in faith to help... now, clarify: clothes on your back and food on your table is where you help. I didn't say your cell phone bill.

He said that. I said it. So what happens sometimes, people put you in a guilt trip because you didn't help them with a bill that's not your problem. Shelter, clothes on your back, food in your stomach. That's what God said.

Your mortgage? Food and clothes. So that's what God defines. I got you, bro. Let's go eat something. Now, if you want to do more, that's on you. But this is what the Bible says. This is what the Bible says.

So the first point is: How do you handle the poor?

Key #1: False Faith Offers No Service to Others

The first point was about how you handle the poor. There should be a corresponding action in your heart for people who are suffering, because that's what God would do. He's sold to the poor.

Now remember the definition of poor: food and clothes. Food and clothes. Green light. Car payment, cell phone bill? That's what the Bible says. Now, if you choose to, God bless you.

Key #2: False Faith Offers No Obedience to God

James 2:18-19 says: "But someone may say, 'You claim to have faith and I have good works; show me your [alleged] faith without the works [if you can], and I will show you my faith by my works [that is, by what I do].' You believe that God is one; you do well [to believe that]. The demons also believe [that], and shudder and bristle [in awe-filled terror—they know better than to defy Him]."

Verse 20: "But are you willing to recognize, you foolish [spiritually shallow] person, that faith without [good] works is useless?"

So what's he saying? If I'm a believer with no good work, I might as well be the devil. He says because the devil believes. The devil believes.

So belief is not the metric. Has your belief got to your heart yet? Because when it gets to your heart, it'll get to your hand. You should have evidence that your life has changed. You can't do what you used to do because something has changed on the inside of you.

Now, I'm telling you, often the change is not quick because you've been raggedy for 35 years. So it's a slow turn.

See, if you see a big ship in the ocean and they say it has to turn around, you know how long it takes to turn around? A long time. So my point is you may be changing, but the people around you don't see it because it takes so long.

See, the devil believes in God but doesn't obey God. Jesus says, "If you love Me, you will obey Me." So obedience is connected to love.

And I promise you, if you go through the Bible, there's going to be some stuff you don't want to do. Like forgive your enemy. Treat those who despise you, who use you well. Go the extra mile. If they slap you on one cheek, give them the other one.

Nah, dog. Nah, dog. You got me with one slap. You're not going to get me for two.

There are some scriptures in the book that are like, "Oh, what? He say how many times shall I forgive him, Lord? Seven times?" He said, "No, seventy times seven."

There are some scriptures, y'all, I don't like. But it's not about what I like. It's about growing me into the fear and admonition of Christ. That's the goal.

Identifying True Faith: Three Ways

There are three ways to determine if a person is fruitful:

Number one: They reflect the tree. Does your life reflect the walk of faith?

Number two: Can I see it? Every tree has a fruit that's visible. An apple's going to come from what kind of tree? An apple tree. An orange tree? So you're going to reflect.

Number three: Your fruit is not the benefit to you. That's right. People eat off of the tree for their benefit, not the tree's benefit. Meaning my life is not about me. My life is about how I can help.

Are you fruitful?

Matthew 7:16 says: "You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act."

You don't have to ask no questions. I had a person tell me, "Well, Pastor, how do you feel about this political candidate?" I said, "Well, my Bible says out of the heart, the mouth speaks." "Well, but they don't mean what they say." I said, "No, no, no. That's not what my Bible says. My Bible tells me very clearly that what comes out of your mouth came from your heart." I said, "So I have to believe them."

The Bible tells me, "Let him who has ears to hear, hear." This ain't no imaginary word. A person will tell you exactly how they feel about you. Believe them.

The Example of Abraham

James 2:21-24 says: "Was our father Abraham not [shown to be] justified by works [of obedience which expressed his faith] when he offered Isaac his son on the altar [as a sacrifice to God]?"

So Abraham, the father of faith, showed his faith by offering his son. So he proved his faith by his offering.

From the time God told Abraham what He was going to do, it was 40 years of waiting. Now, he made some mistakes, like we all do. Ishmael, Hagar. But he got to the plan where God wanted him to be.

Verse 23: "And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and this [faith] was credited to him [by God] as righteousness and as conformity to His will.'"

You know when money comes to your account, what happens? It's credited. So every time you obey God, He gives you credit. So the question is, how good is your credit with God? Can God trust you? Because on the level He trusts you is when He releases to you.

When we were doing this project right here, we started with about $700,000. We started that project with about $8 million. If we mismanage this, we'd never see another dollar. Because God will not give you something He doesn't trust you with.

So your next level is based on how you handle your current level. If you want to go to the next level with God, God says, "Okay, I'm going to give you this. See how you act."

I was talking with my son. He came into some money, and I said, "So what you going to do, son?" He said, "Well, Dad, I'm going to save half and I'm going to invest half." I said, "Hmm. I like that."

And what was for me was a beta test of when he gets a larger sum. Because see, if you can't handle a little, what's going to happen when you get a lot? And God does the same thing with us. How do you handle a little? Because I got more for you. Because I have a prearranged plan for you. I'm trying to get you there. But if you can't handle this, I can't give you that.

I'd be a bad daddy to put more weight on you if you can't handle 10 pounds. So God will see where you are and keep you there until you say, "Okay, I'm ready, Lord."

The Example of Rahab

James 2:25-26 says: "In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works too, when she received the [Hebrew] spies as guests and protected them, and sent them away [to escape] by a different route? For just as the human body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works [of obedience] is also dead."

So he talks about the poor. He talks about the devil. He talks about Abraham. And now he talks about Rahab. This is the last person we think would have faith. So he deals with it.

In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute (listen, no sugarcoating, call it exactly what it is) not justified by works too when she received the Hebrew spies as guests and protected them and sent them away to escape by a different route? She proved her faith by her actions.

So you must ask yourself: What work has my faith produced? Put feet to your faith. Stop talking about what you're going to do.

Key #3: True Faith Offers Costly Obedience

Obedience will often cause you short-term discomfort. Say that slow: Obedience will often cause you short-term discomfort.

I was so proud of my son. The young adults did a fast in the last 9-10 days. So we went to a nice restaurant, and my son said, "I'm fasting." I said, "What? Without me telling you, you're fasting on your own?" I said, "Props. But I'm about to eat this oxtail right now. You called a fast. That ain't my fast, but I respect it, bro. Good job."

He said, "Dad, now I know how it feels." I said, "Yes, Lord. Faith without works is dead."

He's in faith. Now let me show you how good God is. He broke the fast yesterday. He got the biggest contract he ever had. Someone called and said, "We need you today." The contract was $10,000, and he never worked for it.

When you decide to obey God, the Bible says some things only come through prayer and fasting. Congratulations, young adults, for being bold. You don't have to wait for me to tell you to fast. When God tells you to press in, press in.

Key #4: True Faith Offers Costly Sacrifice for Others

Rahab bringing those people into her house could have cost her life. But see, her faith showed works.

Does your faith show works? Because if it doesn't show works, your faith is dead. Another translation says your faith is void. If you ever see a check with the word "void" on it, it means it looks good, but it's no good.

Don't look good and be no good. Because see, if your faith doesn't have a corresponding action, it's no good.

The Two Oars Illustration

There was a man who had a boat, an older boat, and what he did was he would row people across the lake. He could take two or three people at a time. This is old times. Didn't have motors then. He'd get in the boat and start rowing, telling a story.

Someone asked him, "Why did you name your oars?" He said, "Well, early in my life, I would do everything by faith, and I realized I was going in a circle because I was all faith and no works."

"And then I went to the opposite extreme. I was all work." This is the person with three jobs and can't get ahead. We've seen that person. They're working hard, but they're not getting ahead. All they did was go into a different circle.

"But one day I decided to put it together. And when I did faith and work, I started moving forward. And then I did it again. Faith and work. Faith and work."

And what happens in life? Too many believers go through a season of all faith, no work. Then all work, no faith. And wonder why you stay in the same spot year after year.

He says faith without works is dead. I got to put faith and works together, and then I start to see God move.

So he tells us: Believer, work like it depends on you. Believe like it depends on God. Faith without works is dead.

And God will start to move when you start to work His system.

Take Action Today

So many people are frustrated saying, "Man, God ain't moving." Well, are you in faith? And then have you put feet to your faith? You have to take action. That's what the Bible says. Cast your bread on water. You don't know which one's going to come back, but you have to take action.

I love your dream. It's wonderful. But have you took a step yet? I love your idea. But have you took a step yet? Because faith without works is dead.

Right now we're in the faith move. We're in the process of finishing this building. We're between six and seven months from being done. Now, we could have stayed in this building, comfortable. But if Noah waited for the rain, it would have been too late.

So sometimes God will tell you to step out. We went to a house party last night, a family friend, and they said his father came by. He walks Panther Trace. He says, "Man, they messed up Panther Trace. There's a hotel at the back of Panther Trace." He said, "No, Dad, that's the new church." He said, "That's a church? Looks like a hotel." He said, "I like that church. I want to be a part of that church."

Because see, when you're in faith, faith moves. If you have no evidence of your faith, what are you doing? People should see your faith. People should say, "You know what? I see faith." There should be evidence.

And so as long as God gives me strength, I'm going to make sure you're going to see faith. Because see, when you see faith, it builds your faith. Because you say, "I did it."

I did a tour this week with Tracy and her kids. I said, "You know what? I want to make sure one day when you're older, you can say, 'I remember faith. I remember when I was a young person and Pastor Jomo told me we were going to do this, and we saw it.'"

Some of you have been with me for the first building, and you saw it. And now we're in the next stage, and you see it. There should be evidence.

And the Bible says you shall know them by their works. And if people don't see any work in you, why would I follow you? Why are you talking? I don't see no evidence in your life.

And that's why it's so hard to get other people to walk the faith walk. Because if they don't see it in you, why would I listen to you? If I don't see you changing, why would I follow you?

The best soul winner is a great life. Because if people see your life and they see your light, they're going to ask the question: "Man, what is it? What happened to you? I remember you used to smoke. I remember you used to drink. What happened to you?"

And then you can say, "I had an encounter. I met a man named Jesus, and He told me my life story. And when He told me my story, He took the taste out of my mouth. And the things I used to do, I can't do."

Until you have an encounter with Jesus, there will be no change. Because it's not in you. It's the power He puts on the inside of you. And that's where change comes.

The Evidence Test

If you want something different, you got to do something different. Because if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten. Change begins with you. You are the star of your movie. You are the main character. And if you want a different life, you got to do something different.

Question: If you're on trial today to be a believer, would they acquit you because there was no evidence? Because when you're in a courtroom, for them to convict you or call you guilty or release you, it's all based on evidence.

And whether you know it or not, the kingdom system is a court system. And you better have enough evidence that God can say... for the Bible says on the day of judgment, He'll put all your works in the fire to see what was for Me and what was for you. And you will stand before Him.

So you have to make sure in your faith walk that I have enough work. Now, you cannot be saved by works, to be clear. You're not saved by works. But works are the outflowing of your faith.

Faith is like a fire. You don't have to ask a fire to be hot. You don't have to ask a fire to provide light. Because that's what fire is. So your faith should be something so no one has to ask whether you're in faith or not.

Just like a fire is hot and a fire produces light, there should be a fire on the inside of you. As Jeremiah said, "It was like fire shut up in my bones." There's got to be something different about you because your faith should have an outward expression.

Do you know Him? Do you know Jesus, your Lord and Savior? For He is the way, He is the truth, He is the life. No one comes to the Father but through the Son.

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