The Power of Faith ignited by Works (WebTV #379)

When I received the Holy Spirit in my teens, I asked Him for the gift of faith. So many like to think they have the gift of faith. But there must be a reality to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. James, the half-brother of the Lord, writes in James 1.3, that the testing of our faith works patience, so that we may become perfect and entire – in other words, faith has to be tested to prove its reality.

James 1.5 continues, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God." That’s a strong challenge. I try to live out this verse, in that I try always to ask God’s advice. One of my younger co-workers asked me recently how I pray? I don’t believe in formal prayers. In my relationship with the Lord, prayer is a conversation, so that when I talk to the Lord in prayer, I also expect to receive answers. Prayer has to be more than just one-sided, it has to be a two-way communication to be real effective prayer.

Most of you know my testimony, the two times I had cancer – 1964 when it was throat cancer, and 2002/3 when it was lung cancer – on both occasions when I was asking the Lord for a miracle, I also asked Him to give me an answer. How did I get an answer? As I so often do, I said, "Lord I want to see it in writing!" And I get the answer in the pages of my Bible – it is God’s Word to us! So often that’s how God answers me. Although sometimes the answer is just something I sense in my spirit.

So coming back to James 1.5ff, "If any lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally – without criticising! But ask in faith, without wavering – because he who wavers is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed with the wind." Faith has to come with some element of stability, just as God is stable, and we’re asking, we’re trusting, we’re acting on that faith. James says, the man who wavers, let him not think he’ll receive anything! Faith has to be consistent, you have to hold on to that faith. Or you won’t get anything.

Faith is ignited by Works. In James 2.22-23, we see Abraham combined his faith with what he did: his faith was made perfect, it was imputed to him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God! Oh, that this might be said about us! “You see,” James says in v24, “by works a man’s faith is demonstrated, and not by faith alone.” Faith HAS to be followed by fact. “For,” v26 “as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is DEAD also.” The ‘works’ are the very spirit that give LIFE to the body of ‘faith’. God bless you.
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For more information on the Ministry of David Hathaway https://www.eurovision.org.uk
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Видео The Power of Faith ignited by Works (WebTV #379) канала David Hathaway