Do Something | James 2:14-26 | Arik Hayes

Welcome to 2018-19 Church of 11. We are a church that is, we'll continue to say,

“"We are house of prayer, presence and proclamation all three." This actually, I go through”

this and this next part means a little bit more to me today. I want to welcome our online community, the digital disciples. You know, we're going to clap it up. We're going to clap it up. Right, so I know why our pastor is going to dress it when he comes back to the poor bit,

but I want to give you from my heart, right? So I was privileged to be able to see digital

disciples coming from all over the world and trickling and from New Zealand, from Asia, from

“places in America, from Florida, Washington State, Ohio, Texas, everywhere, right, from the Virgin Islands,”

we've seen that, right? But I had the honor and privilege to see 7,000 digital disciples convene in one place over two experiences. See 2,000 plus respond to a call to either salvation

or to continue for the gospel on their continent and it changed me.

It changed me. Different continent, same Christ, different country, same God, different city, same Savior. This is our look across this camera, welcome to our online community, digital disciples. Those are the UK and beyond we love you. I also want to welcome the unbeliever today. I'm going to clap it up again. We'll continue to say this is a place where you can absolutely belong before you actually believe, right? I don't

want to jump into the message we're quick, but there's a difference between hanging around the things of faith and then having faith come in and change your life and then re-adress you to go to heaven. There's a difference. We can sit on the same roll to have different eternal death to life and different fathers, different kingdoms, different things to do. And as our hope and as our prayer is our intention to do what we can to set that

atmosphere so that the Holy Spirit, because nothing happens in the kingdom without the Holy Ghost. You can't manipulate somebody into the kingdom. It has to be something pure from the Holy Ghost! That we will be in the same family, one day, that you will come aboard the Ark of Safety so that when Jesus comes back, you'll go with him with us. Right? And that's as customary. I want to honor the pastor of this house, Philip Anthony Mitchell.

“No questions as opportunity. I'm opportunity to give honor, where I believe we believe honor is.”

As a church worker, I can sing me to walk through the book of Matthew. Actually we're about the rectist thing up here. We titled this series that we're currently going through cross to commission. However, I have the honor and privilege of preaching a stand-alone sermon to you that I've titled do something. Do something. By your head, let me pray for us. Holy Father. How we need you? How we need you in this hour? How we needy God in your presence, Luke.

independent from your grace and your plan of salvation.

“God, I pray that you would bless this gathering that we would behold your glory in the scriptures.”

As we've already done in worship in prayer, help the vessel this morning, which is myself, God, to be able to deliver your word with clarity and with truth and with power from the Holy Ghost. It's an Jesus name, I pray. Amen. Amen. Frank, you might hang an out with me, family. Good to see you. Good to see you again. So, families, it's a movie about it's over like 20 years old, right? And the part that I'm going to talk about has actually

stuck with me since I saw it. I want to say like the first time. There was a movie called John Cue,

anybody seen it? It's actually a sad movie. Those that had not seen it, right? If you had not seen it, one of my friends, I mentioned a movie like a couple months back, it was like, it was a spoiler alert. I was like, the movie is 20 years old. If we can't talk about movies at a 20 years old, what are we? I love you by the way, if you look at it, I'm going to spoil it for you, at least part of it, right? It's about a family, African-American family, mother father, and it

was a son, and he was actually playing a baseball game, and he was just running like nothing was

happening all of a sudden, so he just passed out, and then the plot just really takes off from

there, so he goes to the hospital, and it's like, it's discovered that he has like a very serious heart issue, and they're saying that he needs like a heart transplant, right? The whole point of the movie that's going through, that's just a trial of the family, of the father, of the mother, of the son, it's heart wrenching, because now we're talking about insurance, and we're talking

“about money, and honestly, we don't feel like we should have to be dealing with either of those,”

we're talking about saving our life. So like pushing on, you know, insurance is pushing around, it leaves money, middle America, it's doing stuff, man, and it keeps going, and there comes a point in this movie, where he's trying, he's doing stuff, and he's doing it, and then, and then then his wife was at the hospital, he was out the handle and something, and it's wife's not the hospital, and she calls it's like, John, she was like, she started talking like a monotone

voice, and they were like, "Yo, they're going to release him," talking about the son, they were going to release him, and he's like, "Baby, I just gave him money, it's like everything's going to be like, no, you don't understand. They're going to release him, they're sending him to Paris, and dives, but people's going to be okay, she's like, "No, it's not going to be okay." And she comes along, and I don't know why, but it resonated in my soul, even to this day,

she said, "Do something." And I think that was one of her best things on screen, because I felt like she was really the mother, I forgot that this was a movie. I mean, the guy had children, no, I didn't have children there, but it resonated. "Do something!" You see, I said, it's suffering, you see what's going on, you see the toes and it's nose, I need you to do something. And I was arrested, but she conveyed the conviction,

and the heart of someone who cared about the sun, and she was saying, "Because something is

“happening with the sun, if you care about the sun, you need to go and do something."”

And likewise, beloved, we're saying real biblical faith, if you have conviction that the sun lived a sinful, a sinless life for your sinful self, and he came down from heaven, lived that life, was encouraged, we saw a couple of weeks back, was beaten, was crucified, crowned bones on his head, nails up in his hands, in his feet, died, was placed in a tomb,

You now have access to, I Heavenly Father. We now through faith in Him have been adopted,

“we are now a part of the kingdom, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his dear son,”

Christ, and now that is our reality, and we're saying, "If you believe that, if you have conviction in that, if that is real to you, beloved, we have to do something." If you really believe it, I'm going to jump in the James, he's going to talk about this, he's going to walk through the Scriptures, beloved. We're going to jump in the James, too. We're going to jump in the verse 14, and we're going to see what the Lord has to say.

All right, verse 14, we're going to look at 14, 14 through 16 together.

James says, "What good is it, my brothers?" If someone says, they says, "If someone says he has faith, but does not have words." Can that faith save him? Implified says, in that same verse, "What is the benefit, my fellow believers?" It's someone who claims to have faith, but has no good works as evidence. Can that kind of faith save him? It says, "No, a mere claim of faith is not sufficient."

And it ends that verse by saying, "Genuine faith produces good works." So we're going to hang out right there, beloved. "Genuine faith produces good works." Verse 15, it says, "Now, if a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to him, "Go in peace, be warm, and field without giving them the things needed

for the body, what good is that?" Verse 17, "So also faith by itself, if it does not have words, it's dead." Right, so we're actually here, everybody knows we were over to London,

in the UK, last week had an amazing time, met again, digital disciples, and we essentially just picked up

“28, 19 and took it to the UK. That's what we did. So everybody knows you've heard me preach,”

I'm like a real homebody. That's not like something, I'd just be up here saying. I can be a homebody in a whole new country. I'm not a plan. I'm prepared, I could just stay in the room like the whole time, and you'd call me a weirdo, and you would have been correct. Okay, but my good elder sister's like, "Hey man, listen, we all the way over here, let's, let's say, let's go do something." All right, so, it's so funny, I was just like, "Well, how long are we going to be out here?"

I was like, "I'm serious about this homebody stuff. No, that's how long I'm saying. You might have to go out for a little bit. You might have come to drop me off here." I was like, "Sure, I'm sorry, now I ain't got to be out there seven hours." All right, all right. So we came down, we were blessed to have a car being able to settle somewhere out for a day, and I came out, and I'm a bit of a guy, and I'm used to like Georgia. Like, we really don't,

for the most part, till it got crazy two weeks ago. Like, we hang out in the forties. Right, and the forties is enough for me to change plans. Like, "No, I'm not coming outside. I don't think I don't think to stop, I really want to do, right?" So, um, I was just like, "All right, well, you know, look, it's like 39, so I just had something like this." And I stepped outside, the thief, the car was there, and that wind from London was eating these jeans up.

So I came back inside, I think it was like, "You, um, that's all you're going to wear?" I was like, "Yeah." So I went out there one more time, and again, it was eating these jeans up.

“That's what I mean, we're going to be walking around. I'm going to go upstairs and put a”

thermal on, and I haven't put a thermal on since '92. So if I'm sitting there, somebody would have

And thought they really helped me. I would have looked at them like they were crazy.

'Cause I'm famous for saying, "Hey, man, I don't need a coat. I'm only going to be outside for five seconds, anyway." From the car to the building, I'm fine. But no, if I was out there in the elements! And that wind is different than you can, because it's surrounded by water.

“And I'm out there shivering. You just telling me, "Be warned. What help is that going to do?”

There's something I'll laugh at, right? Yeah, imagine a look, I would have given you." It says in the same way, beloved. So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, it's dead.

First 18, beloved. It says, "But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works."

Show me your faith, apart from your works, and I will show you faith by my works. I'm going to slow down here." And for five words, you say, "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. I want to stop here, right? I want to continue to nail this home, because we believe faith saved through faith by grace, right? So we can appear

like I'm saying something different here, but I am not, right? It's almost like James is coming to further clarify what Paul talks about in the Paulina pistols, right? Save through faith alone, but it's like, "So somebody on our staff is actually pregnant," right? And we like, "They told us they shared it with us." We were like, "Yeah!" She's pregnant! With that being said, we're saying it's just a matter of time before she delivers the baby.

“Okay, we're not going to come and see how the baby is like, "Oh my gosh, what happened?”

We already were made aware that she was pregnant, and the baby is growing and growing, and growing, and growing pains with that sometimes." Right? You've got to change the way you walk, sometimes the pregnant water. I see that a time or two, right? Right, and now contracts is as your birthing things in the spirit. And then she delivers the baby. What I'm telling you, beloved, is genuine, biblical, real, true, faith is connected with the umbilical cord,

to obedience and good works. They are not separate. And I'll be jumping in the 19th. And listen, this is one that will shake up verses. Like, where says, you know, you know, Lord, we did all this in your name. He says, "The pork for me, I knew you'd not. This is another shake up verse to me." Okay? All right? So first 19th is, and he's writing to Jewish believers at this time. He says, "You believe that God is one.

You do well. Sounds amazing, doesn't it?" Right? He says, "Even the demons believe

and shudder." Let me give you the amplify verse. He says, "You believe that God is one. You do well to believe that." Also says, "The demons also believe that and shudder and bristle in off-field terror, they have seen his wrath. Take that down."

“Because don't we also think that's a good thing you run into somebody, man?”

Well, you believe that. You believe Jesus, God? Yeah. You believe God is the one, shudder and living God. Yeah, man. Yeah. I'm going to church you know my family? Let's say give you. You start talking to me, but yeah, man, we grow up with the church. I didn't ask you about none of that. I could actually care less. But I'll listen, right? I'm looking for it. Do you have faith? When he comes back, are you going?

I just want to make this very plain. Well, verse 19 is said, "Just by having a mere confession or a mental asset or a belief that God is the true and living God, that puts you in the same

Isn't that what it says?

“You see, like, because we love you, we just can't let you believe that you can just say you are”

a Christian and just do whatever you want and think that you win the kingdom? You see how that's

love, beloved? Verse 20, yes, me. He continues, he says, "Do you want to be shown you foolish person that believes that that faith apart from works is useless?" Amplified. But are you willing to recognize you foolish, spiritually shallow person, that faith without good works is useless?

They go to some old testament examples of faith with works. We're going to jump in the verse 21.

“We're talking about Abraham. The father of our faith.”

21 says, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son, Isaac, on the altar?" Verse 22, "You see that faith was active," say active. Along with his works, and faith was completed by his works. Stop, right? So, so, I know

it says justified by his works, right? The further explanation was that justified by his faith

inspired works. One, because true genuine faith in the womb and the actual delivering of the baby are connected. So, what I'm really saying, beloved, I'm going to say in a couple of different ways, you cannot have true biblical faith and not have works of obedience and fruit of righteousness. It cannot happen. I'll give you 21 to amplify the further nailed at home. You say, "You see that his faith was

working together with his works, faith works together." And as a result of the works, his faith was completed, reaching its maturity when he expressed his faith through obedience. So, I'm going to tell you something beloved. I said the word obedience and it did fit right with me. If we're honest, that's not even a word we use anymore. My wife and the kitchen are the day. She says, "You're just being disobedient to one of the children. I'm the daddy in the

hell." And I was like, "Oh, it sounded a little judge, mental. Don't you feel the same?" It's like, "Why don't you say, "Hey, you'll be disobedient. Who are you talking to?" Even as believers, we don't connect faith with obedience to God. You want to label us Bible bumpers, but you say, "You actually have to obey the scriptures." If you have faith, it will result in obedience. Let me stop right here.

Because some of y'all, you're a little nervous. You don't know if I'm saying what you want to do, you want to run out. And now you just want to start doing stuff. Stop! That's not it. We've been preaching all through Matthew, right? And it's been showing us just because you have religious activity. It does not mean you're connected to the Savior. It does not mean that, right? So if you see yourself and you actually have a true confession

“of faith, you believe is true, right? I want you to do one thing, is there at least a seed of obedience?”

It's hard shit time. Because I don't know what you said. We got the wheat in the tarp, in the same room. Only the holy ghost knows. Do you at least have a seed of obedience? Something workin' in your soul to say, "I gotta live right. I gotta love. I gotta forgive. I gotta be generous. I gotta serve. I gotta, I just can't be whileing in the ways of darkness.

even? That's not your life. Is there something that is tied with the umbilical cord,

“it's tied to true biblical faith on all that Christ did on the cross, the finished work?”

If so, beloved, if it's tied directly to that, you are fighting your signature, which is also present. But you're connected to that, you've been pregnant with the Holy Ghost. Then you are saved. That is called real, true, biblical faith. Verse 23. And it says, "And the scripture was fulfilled." This is 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. Again, look at that word right there. The faith and the works are together. And because we see his works, it is evidence that faith in God was on the inside of him. For those that know the story, he was promised a son, Isaac. And God told him to go and sacrifice Isaac, his only son. And back then it was a very serious thing. Your son was your lineage, was really your everything.

It was a big deal. He had been waiting for Isaac. And here is God telling him to go and sacrifice.

The very promised son that God promised him and he delivered and he told him to take him up on that mountain and sacrifice. And because he had faith that he believed in God, he started up the mountain. You see how biblical faith right there? It can't be hidden. And then those that believed that Isaac was a type of Christ, like a foreshadow of Christ, because he was the son and he actually had to save the wood. Then they were going to use for the offering

on his back up the hill. I will not stake it up to heart, much of what I was reading. He said, Isaac spoke up because it's three days.

“Something along the lines of, I see the wood, but dad, where's the sacrifice?”

He's older than the carried wood and know what's going on. And what is stopping some of us in our maturity in God is we will not walk up the mountain with our eyes. I know I can preach this and make some real big moments. I want you to listen to what I'm saying. Do you have an Isaac that is dear to you that God is telling you to sacrifice and you're telling him no and you're being disobedient? Is it the marriage in this season?

Is it the business that you want? Do we even consider his plan for our life

“when we try to go get the masters? Or is the ministry that you want for your own name?”

What is it? What is? I don't know. You know and the Holy Ghost knows. He demonstrated his faith by his willingness to sacrifice. So those that don't know the story, right? If you ever heard the term Ram in the bush that's where it comes from, right? So they get up on the mountain. God says, hey, don't do it. He was actually about to do it. He had the knife in there. He called out to them. Don't do it and he looked up his soil around. So they actually

did the sacrifice there. But that's a biblical faith, y'all. He didn't say, yeah, I got up to leave you.

it's going to lead to you doing something. If you really believe it.

First 25. Another Old Testament example. It says, and in the same way,

was not also rehabbed the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sitting them out by another way. Right? So it's a rehab and I love this because the Bible

“don't clean things up before they present stuff to you. What was our profession? The prostitute?”

They don't clean up with it. We know what prostitutes do. Don't we?

She was in the promised land and two spots were sent in to spy on the promised land and she hid

them and when she hid them she lied. So now we have a pagan lying prostitute. I don't want to talk about her sin. That's cool. That's cool. That's cool. Right? Like a pagan lying prostitute is being used as an example of having faith. Now if you're super religious you may have missed that. Is that what you do? Is that what you

“do? Right? But for somebody like me, I'm happy because especially if you were new believer,”

that should make you happy too because listen, you could have faith and still not be all the way

cleaned up. Of course we don't promote lying, promote prostitution but she had faith. She hid them. She was like I know you guys are the true living God and the pagan lying prostitute said she said hey swear by me I'm going to house you here but when y'all come and take this land because I got wheeled with your skin. They said they heard of your God. It said they're hard melted. I know y'all want to take over. So when y'all come save me in my house home.

But I'll give it to you again. So what they did was and say listen I swear it to you. Now if anybody is not in your house instead of your house we come our blood is not on our hands. But if they stay in your actual house they will be saved. Now that reminds me of in the Old Testament when the plague went out they were going to kill and all you had to do was smear the blood on the doorpost. We were not expecting everybody here and make sure their

righteousness, their righteousness, their holy, no the blood made them holy and everybody that did that smear by the blood was saved. I'm so glad I'm smear by the blood of Jesus! So glad! That's the right hammer her her dumbest house was actually like like built into the wall of the city, right? So on the outside they say she actually held to like hung like a scarlet rope on the

“outside and that's how they had dinner fire and it's the same imagery right? It's the blood that saves.”

Yes, he was a lion pagan prostitute but people live in the twilight living god. And she demonstrated her faith. Was she all the way cleaned up absolutely not? But she was used and I'm looking at people if you just have a real faith you can be used use voice glory, use voice kingdom, use! 1st 26. And it ends this section of the scripture. After these two Old Testament examples that

just saying you believe, apart from works of obedience, works of submission to Christ,

righteous good deeds is dead. And just to nail that word one more time, first 26 to amplify,

for just as the human body without the spirit is dead. So faith without works of obedience is also dead. I know we're talking about works, man. It just can't be about being seen. Christ continually rebukes the Sadducees and Pharisees and the Gospels about doing stuff to be seen. That's not it. He's just can't run out to start doing stuff. Now I'm going to squat,

“is it connected to the faith in the Son? Not manipulation, not to be seen. Is it biblical faith?”

That the blood of the Savior has been smeared by the Holy Ghost across your soul? That's when we talk to a couple of y'all. Some of y'all are say, but some need to stop quenching the spirit and do something. So I don't know where this lands. The Holy Ghost and you know, right? Some of y'all are saved, but the spirit and you have been pregnant. Right? Right? You have been pregnant,

but the Holy Ghost will tell you to do something and you'll just dampen it. No, no, you say, you're right. You're like, alright, forgive. I'm good on that. Send the text to that person to show up. You ain't seen them in three Sundays. Too busy. This is the thing. You don't say this out loud. You say this in your heart. A lot of times I just obedient is not out loud, but we're being disobedient.

I'd rather don't scroll. Cottage on the beloved. Sometimes, sometimes you're dealing with something, because you just refuse to be bored enough to listen to the Holy Ghost.

Every time you get a free second, you got a screen in front of your face.

Down here, over there up here, you look at just trying to be honest entertained, but you are pregnant, and the Holy Ghost is speaking to you, and you are not inciting your ear, and we are being disobedient. That's it, we, we understand together. It's something y'all are thinking, "I'll obey, but you're dealing with timing."

Now, I'd like to say it's a ditch on both sides of the road, right? When it comes to timing, some of you guys are using timing as an excuse because you're uncomfortable. Like, I know, said, like, about a month ago, right? We're just using planning as an excuse.

“Like, how many different tabs are you going to make before you just make a move?”

How many influence you're going to follow on the thing before you just make a move, and actually do something? Well, I don't know everything. You won't.

You'll never learn everything in a book, obey and research.

Never. And the sum of you won't consult the Lord at all. He's going to go out and do stuff. I'm just not here doing it. Yeah, I'm doing it. Hey, man.

Did you consult the Lord on timing? They could be doing it, and they could be being obedient, but because you could be doing the same things and they're good, but because it's not your time, you're being disobedient.

“You see why intimacy with the Holy Ghost is so important?”

Because on the surface, I can't tell. You're doing the same thing. And you're doing the right just thing. But the Holy Ghost said, yeah, it's your time. You wait. I'm still seasoning things for you.

I'm still lining things up for you. It's not ready yet. I'm not forgotten you. Just hold this hold in the air, right? Knees in the hole in the pattern right now.

And my pastor hit me up. He said something. He said, sometimes he will make you lie down and green past this.

“I've been safe for most of my life. I never looked at it like that.”

It says, make you lie down and green past you. Don't even sound right. If I feel green past you, why would I fight you? Why would I fight you on land down? We're distracted, beloved. Sometimes we won't see the green past that the Lord has prepared.

Just for you. Look, look, look. This is just for you. We're busy.

Sometimes we're just being disobedient. Sometimes we're chasing stuff that is used to distract us from the will of God. Ain't that a sad thing? I know, I know. I made it just for you, come back. But this is, this is made just for you, come back. What are you going?

“My sister has said, "Tat me on the shoulder." That's what the Holy Ghost does.”

But I'm going to tell you, family, it's not always like this.

Most of the time here, it's forceful like that, usually something like this. And because it's light and we're disobedient and distracted, we say God didn't speak. Can I know that home for you? How much more systems are the Holy Ghosts? Are you in the middle of a fast? When you dampen your your your flesh, you weaken all of a sudden you're hearing, just now I've been on the flight. It's just popped open.

We think we started speaking a lot of times, he's been speaking the whole. Last but not least, I'm about to close. I'm going to speak to the weary Satan here. You have biblical faith. You've given birth to many babies. You have good works. But you're weary. Life been kicking your tail. You're getting kicked in the chest and you gasp in for air.

But love that I came to encourage you this morning and say, "Don't give up." Hold on, beloved. Hold on. Hold on, beloved. Nobody sees me, God sees you. Maybe this is him using me this morning. Hold on, beloved. Maybe you're cross the screen and the chat. Hold on, beloved.

I don't know what role you are. Just listen. This is the Holy Ghost. Hold on, beloved.

“Don't you give up? Don't you abort the mission? Don't you give up?”

This is Paul speaking. He says, "For I am the least of the apostles. It's Paul speaking. The apostle Paul, written in 2000s of the New Testament. A lot of it from jail sales. Unworthy to be called an apostle. This is where Paul puts his past. Unworthy because I persecuted the church of God. Amplified says because at one time I fiercely oppressed and violently persecuted the church of God. I can be all laying in verse 10, beloved. He says, "But by the grace of God, I am what I am."

Maybe you don't think I deserve to be on this platform, but by the grace of God. I am what I am. Rag tag, be people, people, on different continents for the glory of God,

I didn't qualify according to you. It might be true, man, and maybe you don't qualify for other people.

By the grace of God, we are who we are.

“For standing in Amplified out in here, he says, "But by the remarkable grace of God, I am what I am."”

And his grace toward me was not without effect. Now look at what is tied to the grace of God in

Paul's life. Speaking of the rest of the apostles, he said, "In fact, I work harder than all of the apostles." This is what he says. He says, "Though it was not I, but the grace of God, His

“unmerited favor and blessing which was with me. Faith connected to His words. Grace to be”

impregnated with the gospel, grace and favor to do the works." I don't know what that's going to look like for you, man. What works says the Lord plan for you that you're not doing. If you are doing it,

just put some more into it. I mean, look like going to growth track after the third experience. I don't know.

“Then we look like going out to our month of serving. The serving in 25. I don't know.”

Open the daycare. I don't know. Reconcil the marriage. I know your parents. I don't know. God in the Holy Ghost does. It's not about doing stuff. It's about doing it because He died on the cross for us. And that faith, real faith, produces good works. By your head, let me pray for us. Holy Father, I'd say thank you for just embracing your goodness, God. Real biblical teaching, God, where James gets us together here. Let's just know what real biblical faith is.

Help us listen to the nudge of the Holy Ghost. Some of us may even need to examine whether we are actually in the faith. And that's a good thing now before eternal judgment hits. God, we ask you to do what only you can do. Search the hearts of men. I continue to draw unto yourself. It's in Jesus name, I pray. Amen and amen. Love you beloved. God bless.