CHRIST AMONG US
This is the theme for this year’s A/G Missions Focus.
The Assemblies of God has 2 main arms for Missions: US Missions, and
World Missions. Today we are going to talk about being a missionary
WHERE YOU ARE Planted! Christ Among us! You don’t need to leave the
country to find people who need Jesus! Some of us have the mission to
stay here and be a missionary where we live! At VC we support several US
missionaries.
(Name Them…)
Our country is broken. It doesn’t take much to realize this place needs a
spiritual revival and awakening.
*Events like Satancon are being hosted in our backyard in Boston in April
*America is Ranked third highest in world for mental illness – 1 in 6 people
struggle with some kind of mental disorder from anxiety and depression to
more severe illnesses
*Over 100,000 people in America every year overdose on illegal drugs.
Highest it’s ever been.
*Leads the world in prescription drug abuse and addiction
*On a single night in 2020, 34,210 unaccompanied youth were counted as
homeless. Of those, 90 percent were between the ages of 18 to 24. The
remaining 10 percent (or 3,389 unaccompanied children) were under the
age of 18.
*50 percent of homeless youth are unsheltered — sleeping outside, in a
car, or some place not meant for human habitation.
*American Education , the economy, and our spiritual atmosphere are all
declining showing signs of a country that has lost its spiritual focus.
There is a portion of scripture we are going to look at today that helps us
see Christ Among US! It calls to us to live a life that others will notice our
faith and recognize Jesus in us.
James 2:14 – 19 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone
claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of
you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing
about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by
itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my
deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons
believe that—and shudder.
You ever have someone say, “OH you are all talk and no action!”? Feels
pretty bad when someone says that to you. Now if they say that when you
are talking about losing weight, or deciding to find a new job, or deciding if
you want to go to college… it doesn’t really matter. But if someone tells
you, “you’re all talk and no action” about your faith!! That’s a problem that I
would try and resolve!
We know that we are saved by faith. If you have come to Jesus and you
recognize that He is the way to heaven and you have asked forgiveness of
your sins to Him, you are saved. We are not righteous because of anything
we have done personally, but this scripture is taking it a step further.
You PROVE YOUR FAITH by your actions.
Ex – A minister was having lunch with a local snow plow driver who owned
his own company. Another guy from his church worked there. The pastor
mentioned that particular employee to the owner, the pastor said, "I
suppose that John is one of your best workers.; The owner responded, ’No,
I’m sorry to say he isn’t. The trouble with John is that he stands around
talking about his religion when he ought to be shoveling. He is a good
enough guy, but he hasn’t learned yet that while he is on the job, his
religion ought to come out of his hands and not out of his mouth.';
James 2:14 – 19 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone
claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?
I love James because he is so upfront and forthright in his teachings. He is
literally saying, your faith is no good, it’s NOT REAL, if you do nothing with
it. Can such faith save you? In other words, do you truly have faith at all?
This kind of faith that you say you have, isn’t really faith. True faith in Christ
saves us, and that faith is proven by our actions.
Keep reading…
15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one
of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does
nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way,
faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Notice, this point of action that James highlights, he refers to the physical,
social wellbeing of others. He doesn’t say, if I see you read your bible 6
hours a day, or if I see you attend church 3 times a week, or if I see you
praying loudly for 4 hours in a corner… He links this idea of Good works
and Faith, with physical, tangible needs of others.
In the context of this teaching, if you read all the verses above these verses
and the ones below, you can see that James is pushing back against
partiality in the church. This church had a problem with favoring the rich,
paying attention to the wealthy, disregarding the poor. James addresses
this issue in here. So, this portion of scripture is concerning a larger
problem that the people had. The fact is, if you can’t show kindness to
people in the church, you’ll never do it outside the church. It’s a powerful
witness when the world sees our faith in action! When Christ comes into
your life, when he fills you up and changes your life completely, there is a
new LOVE that flows out of you. This love is HIS Love. It can’t be
manufactured, or demanded, it isn’t manmade, it is genuinely spirit led. You
care about people you have never even met before. You have an overall
love and concern for people in general. Why? Because it is Christ AMONG
US! Christ’s Spirit is now in your heart, and you are doing His work now.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my
deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons
believe that—and shudder.
We can talk about faith and deeds to one another all day long – but James
says, it’s very simple. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show
you my faith BY MY DEEDS! In other words, talk is cheap, but I’m going
to prove it to you.
God knows your heart, but the world watches your deeds. They don’t care
about our heart, they want to know what good our faith is in this world.
EX – Many times for Christians, the NEED is the Call. Like Jennifer was
talking about.
The need is the call. Pastor Lou and walked into ministry 35 years ago, not
because God spoke to me audibly, but because we saw a need. Our first
ministry was north Philadelphia at the time when crack cocaine was
destroying the inner city. In the 90’s, violence in Philly was off the chart and
the poverty was horrific. You couldn’t even believe this was America. It was
so bad, One trip to that city was all we needed. I never saw myself as a
missionary before that, I didn’t even know what that meant. But that day,
seeing those kids, and feeling my Heart break with compassion, I
knew…we aren’t leaving here. God has a work for us in this place.
Whatever it takes, we are going to live here and help these people.
The need was the call. All around us everyday, even in beautiful places
like Sharon MA, there are broken people, hurting families. There are places
where We are NEEDED.
Check out this video about one man’s missionary journey –
VIDEO – I Didn’t Feel Called
CONCLUSION:
What is the thing that moves your heart with compassion? Once you find
that, act on it! Do something about it! Don’t just sit there with it, or
complain about it, or cry about it… do something with that love and
compassion and make a difference. What has God been tugging away at
your heart to get involved with?? I’m not even talking about things in the
church, although that’s a great place to start. Maybe some of you are
supposed to go help at a nursing home, some at a Veterans hospital, some
of you may see the needs of the homeless, or single moms. Some of you,
your heart may break for that couple with an autistic child… wouldn’t it be
amazing if you offered them some relief once in a while to go on a date or
spend time alone, some of us have a heart for the aged- those who are so
lonely and without family – call them up, go sit and have some tea with
them, spend some time sharing and praying together. ….whatever it is,
what are you doing about it???
Let this year be the year, that you reprioritize your schedule to allow room
for Good works. If you don’t make Good works a priority, you will never do
it. Years will go by and you still will have not moved forward in any service
for God and helping others.