Sermon - Faith That Works: "Kingdom Wisdom " Series

Sermon Outline
Focus: Kingdom faith is visible. Real faith does not merely
profess Christ. it reflects the Gospel.

I. Kingdom Faith produces action. (James 2:15–17)
      Faith moves toward people in need.
      Compassion is evidence of genuine faith.
      Jesus didn’t merely SAY He loved us – He moved toward us.
      “Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” — James 2:17

II. Kingdom Faith transforms the whole person. (James 2:18–20)
      Intellectual agreement is not the same as saving faith.
      Saving faith is surrender.
      We are saved by grace through faith — not by works.
      But saving faith always produces visible fruit.

III. Kingdom Faith trusts God enough to obey. (James 2:21–26)
      Abraham’s obedience revealed the authenticity of his faith.
      Real faith becomes visible through costly obedience.

IV. Application:
      Is my faith visibly shaping the way I live?
      What would visible faith look like in my home, workplace, or relationships?
      Where is God calling me to greater obedience?
      Key Truth: Works are not the ROOT of salvation –
      they are the FRUIT of salvation.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Listen, saving faith is not merely intellectual agreement. Saving faith is surrender. And there is a difference between knowing a lot about Jesus and actually trusting Jesus with your your very existence.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Welcome to the Church of the Lakes Weekly Sermon Podcast. We're so glad you've joined us and we're honored to be part of your spiritual journey. Today, Pastor Jared Priestet continues our sermon series, Kingdom Wisdom, using the Book of James, written by the half brother of Jesus. Today's message is titled Faith That Works. Kingdom Faith is visible. Real faith does not merely perfect Christ, it reflects the gospel. And now, here's Pastor Jared. Be blessed.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

It is a good joy to be with you today. I have not been here for a couple weeks. Many of you probably don't know. I had surgery to repair a hernia on June 4th. It happened pretty quick. Praise be to God. I got in quickly because I'm heading to Africa in July. I did not want to go there with a hernia. So can you imagine? I don't want to imagine. Let's just get beyond that. Had that repaired immediately, three days later, went on vacation with my family. So vacation was a little stunted in terms of what we could do, but we just enjoyed time together and it was a blessing. But it's so good to be back in worship with you. I've missed you. I've been watching online, of course, but I've missed you. Today we are continuing on in a series of messages we started a number of weeks ago on James Letter of the Early Church, named James. And the title of the series is Kingdom Wisdom. Really, Kingdom Wisdom is fitting under the umbrella of the prevailing theme at Church of the Lakes for 2026. We are talking a lot about the kingdom of God, cultivating kingdom of God mindsets. Why? Well, so we can be more effective kingdom builders within our circles of influence. And wisdom has a part to play in becoming a more effective kingdom builder within your circles of influence. And the reason I say that, tell me if I'm wrong, but we live in a world that is overflowing with information, but starving for wisdom. Is that a fair statement? I mean, with the onset, the the the dawn of AI in particular, right? We have information at our disposal. We have access to more podcasts, uh opinions, advice, self-help gurus than any generation in history before us. And yet, if we're honest, we are still a people that finds ourselves divided, angry, confused, and spiritually exhausted. Why? Well, because knowledge alone doesn't necessarily equate to a changed life. Information doesn't mean transformation. That's why the book of James matters so much. James is known as the Proverbs of the New Testament. And the reason being, it is a book that is so practical. It's moving faith from head, not only to the heart, but also to the hand. Um, again, known as the Proverbs of the New Testament. James is probably the most practical book in the entire canon of Scripture, aside from the Proverbs of the Old Testament. And the reason is because James, the author, is not merely concerned with Christians what they believe in theory. He wants to know how kingdom faith actually shows up in real life. Because friends, real faith doesn't just stay in your head. It doesn't stay ethereal. It shows up in the way you speak, shows up in the way you interact with other people, the way you build relationships. It shows up in really how you suffer, endure suffering, how you make day-to-day decisions. Faith that moves from your head to your heart to your hand. So all throughout this series, we're discovering uh something that I think is real important. And that's mature faith isn't developed in convenience and in comfort as much as we wish it was in the American culture. Am I right? No, real faith is revealed, it's forged in everyday obedience, regardless of how costly that obedience might be. Today, James is gonna present to us a hard but necessary truth. And it's actually a very simple truth as well. And it's this that kingdom faith is meant to be made visible. Kingdom faith is visible faith. We're gonna pick up where we left off last week in James chapter 2, uh starting in verse 14. This is James, the half brother of Jesus, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Open up your Bibles if you got them. If you want to grab the one in front of you, please do so. If you need a Bible, please see me after church. I want to put one in your hands, these beautiful study Bibles. If you have a friend that needs a Bible, come and tell me, and I'll give you one to give to that person as well. The only promise you got to make me is you'll pray with them when you hand in the Bible, okay? But listen to God's word. James 2, verse 14. Starts out with a question What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, Go in peace, keep warm, eat your fill, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs. What is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, Well, you have faith, I have works. Well, show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one, you do well. But even the demons in hell believe and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you sonseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? And then he's going to move into two different examples in the biblical witness. The first is Abraham. He says, What not uh was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by his works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Here's the second example. Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road. For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead. Friends, this is the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Will you pray with me? Father God, I just personally want to thank you for this opportunity you've given me after two weeks of being off to be able to offer our faith family some reflection on your life-giving word, Lord God, that I read this morning. I just pray right now that you just soak it in the blood of Jesus, that you fill it with the power of your Holy Spirit so we can receive it and actually live it. Lord, we love you, we need you. It's in your name we pray. Amen. You know, I think one of the most dangerous things in our world today, particularly in the context of church world, is this idea of false assurance. What is false assurance? Well, it's believing you're spiritually alive when in fact you're still spiritually dead. It's thinking you have spiritual vitality and yet you have never actually been gripped by the grace of Jesus Christ that has compelled you to bend your knee and surrender to his lordship. That's false assurance. Now, James begins this uh particular passage of scripture with a question regarding assurance, whether it be false or real. And the question is simply this what good is it, brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works, can such faith actually save them? Now let me say something clear just at the get-go. James is not teaching a salvation by works. This is not a works-based righteousness, what James is talking about here. Friends, the Bible is crystal clear. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Ephesians 2, verse 8 is that quintessential verse that speaks to this reality from the Apostle Paul when he says, We are saved by grace through faith. This is a gift given to us, not a result of works, so no one can boast. Listen, you cannot earn your salvation, you cannot perform your way to heaven, you cannot impress God with your morality, your church attendance, or your religious activity. We are saved completely and utterly by the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross and in the empty tomb. But James is making a different point here. So he's saying, works are not the root of your salvation, but they are indeed the fruit of your salvation. Like real faith, friends, changes people. It changes people. Kingdom faith becomes visible. Maybe it's not perfect all the time, but it at least is sincere and genuine. It's a faith that maybe started in the head, worked its way down to the heart, but because you have been gripped by it, can't help, but compel that faith to do something with your hands. So when when Jesus changes your heart again, it's supposed to grip you, it's supposed to eventually show up in your day-to-day living. Uh, three things I think James is showing us here in these few verses in his letter to the early church. The first is this is that kingdom faith produces action. Kingdom faith compels a person to do good with their hands. Kingdom faith motivates a person to get their hands dirty doing good for someone who's in need. James begins with this practical example of how this is supposed to play out. He says, if a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, Go in peace, keep warm, eat your fill, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? Now we look at that and say that's rhetorical, right? Well, duh, of course, people of God are to do what? Not just tell someone to be of good cheer, go in peace and keep warm, but to actually do something about their tangible need. James in the answer asking this what I believe to be a rhetorical question is basically saying to the church, listen, talk is cheap. Talk is cheap. Anyone can say, I'll pray for you, I hope things get better, God bless you. But kingdom faith is not merely saying the right things, kingdom faith is loving people in tangible ways. Listen, friends, James wants us to say he's gonna push us. Faith that never moves to practical compassion, faith that never moves to acts of mercy, means something is wrong. That there has been a disconnect in a person's soul between their head, their heart, and their hands. I mean, take Jesus for an example. The Son of God, here he is, somebody who didn't merely say he loved people, did he? No, he moved toward them. I mean, just for a moment, pause and let's talk about who Jesus is, right? The second person of the Trinitarian nature, God, in which we believe. The second person of our God condescended himself, left his throne in heaven, came to earth, and fleshed himself in our humanity and moved toward us. He touched lepers, he fed crowds, he stopped for blind beggars, he welcomed children, he sat with the outcast, and ultimately he went to the cross not only to die for us, but to die instead of us. He shed his blood for our salvation. Friends, real faith moves to action. And honestly, church, if I could take a moment to kind of, I don't want to say brag or pry, because that's probably not a spiritual thing to do, but if I can lift up and celebrate, let's use that word, celebrate what we as a collective church do corporately in this regard, I want to take a minute to do that. Because when it comes to living out our faith in visible ways, I think as a collective whole, we do that amazingly. Honestly. I mean, take foster care ministry for an example. You know, we started Royal Family Kids Camp nearly 20 years ago. 2007 was our first camp, where we opened up a summer camp for one week for children within the foster care system within Stark County, Ohio. Now that has only ballooned and blossomed to something bigger. We have this umbrella term now for our foster care ministry we call Grace 6.8. Grace, uh, we are people of grace, but it's also an acronym in that umbrella term that means God's responsive and compassionate embrace. 6-8 is that reference to Micah 6-8. And what does the Lord require? But to act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God. And so that's become our umbrella term for all of our foster care ministry at Church of the Lakes. And so part of a piece of that underneath that umbrella are people within our congregation who are licensed foster caregivers. They've opened their home to children within foster care. We have seven families within our body that are licensed foster caregivers. And on any given Sunday, we have roughly 10 to 12 kids within our congregation that are currently in foster care. And these families have opened up their homes to vulnerable kids. Hear this in costly obedience. It's faith made visible. But if you talk about the care communities within Grace Six Eighth that wrap around these families, it's it's unbelievable what we as a corporate body do. So in order for these families who feel this call from God to engage foster care, open their homes, in order for them to have the strength and the adversity to do it, we have wrapped care communities around them that have provided tangible help in time of need. Maybe it's a meal preparation or sending meals. Maybe it's transporting children to activities or to practice. Maybe it's respite or babysitting or tutoring. Branch out a little bit more, not from Gray 6.8, but other areas within the church that we do this well as a corporate whole. Think about mission work. Just a couple weeks ago, we sent almost 50 people to Henderson Settlement, Kentucky to get literal hands dirty doing good for people in need in Upper Appalachia. In a couple weeks from now, I'm going to be leading a team to Sierra Leone, Africa, the Western Africa, where we've partnered with helping children worldwide since 2018. This will be my fifth time over there to engage global health and child welfare. But go beyond that. Congregational care ministers. If you walk out the back doors to your right on a wall next to the secretary's office, there's 24 names and faces of people who've made it their ministry to go into hospitals, therapy centers, and homes to be the ministry of presence for people in need. But not only that, to offer words of encouragement, prayer support, anointing, and communion to those people. Think about our habitat build. We're in the midst of building a home right now for the Kearns family for Brittany and her son Breeze. How many of us are going out there to help put walls up and all I'm capable of doing is painting? So I'm going to be going there in August. But I could go on and on and on. Listen, Church of the Lakes, our church family corporately, when people hurt, when people in need, what we do is we respond in visible compassion. That's kingdom faith made visible. But James is going to push us a little bit. He's not only telling us to look at what we're doing as a corporate whole, he's also going to pull out a mirror and want you to look at your own personal self in it. He's going to ask the question what are you doing in your own personal circles of influence to make your faith visible? Like how are you interacting and loving your neighbors that are beside you or in front of you or behind you? Or how are you loving and encouraging your coworkers or your classmates in school? Or maybe better yet, how are you extending the love of Christ to those within the four walls of your own home? How are you personally making your faith visible? Maybe it means this. Let me give you just a spitball of a few potential answers. Maybe in the workplace, uh, instead of going, you know, the shortest line between uh two points is a straight line, right? Between A and B is a straight line. But maybe you have to go around the block, go to your office uh a different way in order to walk by somebody who you know is discouraged and could use a word of encouragement or prayer support. Maybe it's looking out for a coworker and colleague in that manner. Maybe it's, oh, here's one. Forgiving somebody who's wounded you deeply. That's hard, but that's faith made visible. Or it's opening your home to, again, children in foster care. Maybe it's using your resources that God has entrusted to you in generous ways in order to expand the boundaries of his kingdom here on earth. Maybe it's speaking hope into someone who's discouraged or disillusioned in this moment. Maybe it's serving even when it's inconvenient to serve. Why? Because faith that never leaves the realm of idea. Hear me, church, is not biblical faith. It's not. James is saying faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. That's strong language. He's not saying it's weak. He's not saying it's immature, he's saying it's dead. Kingdom faith must produce action. The second thing James is going to tell us is that kingdom faith transforms the whole person. Mind, body, and soul. I love verse 19. If anything, for the shock value of it. James says this in verse 19. You believe that God is one. Well, you do well to believe that. But even the demons believe that and shudder. Well, what's James saying? He's saying that demons have correct theology, church. He's saying that demons understand church doctrine. He's saying that demons will even acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord of Lords and King of kings. But knowledge alone does not equal saving faith because where do demons still abide? In the belly of hell. Listen, saving faith is not merely intellectual agreement. Saving faith is surrender. Then there is a difference between knowing a lot about Jesus and actually trusting Jesus with your very existence. And this is where I think Paul and James completely agree perfectly. Again, Paul will say that, listen, we are saved by grace through faith, apart from works. Well, James is going to pick it up there and say this, yes, but the kind of faith that saves is never a faith that remains alone. Works do not save us. No, however, works reveal the salvation that has truly taken place in our heart or taken root in our heart. I love Martin Luther, and for you history busts know it's kind of ironic. I'm quoting Martin Luther on a sermon out of the book of James because he was not a fan of the book of James because of his issues with the Catholic Church. But he says this in terms of faith versus works. He says, we are saved by faith alone, but that faith that saves is never alone. That's the book of James. That's what James is saying. Religion says, I obey so God can accept me. The gospel says, no, no, no, no. I obey because in Christ I have already been accepted. And when that reality grips your heart, like grabs hold of your soul, church, it changes you. Not because you're trying to earn salvation, but because Jesus has already given himself for you and has attained your salvation on your behalf. Kingdom faith transforms the whole person. The last thing James says is that kingdom faith trusts God enough to obey him. He entered those two examples at the end, Abraham and Rahab. Verse 21 to 26. Let's just look at Abraham for a second. James says, Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? Now mind you, the offering of Isaac wasn't what justified Abraham. That wasn't the source of his salvation. Listen, Abraham believed God long before he ever placed Isaac on the altar. But when Abraham obeyed God at great personal cost by placing Isaac on the altar, that obedience, hear me, revealed the authenticity of his faith. That's when his faith became visible. And honestly, I think this is where faith becomes real for us today. Not in comfortable moments, but in costly obedience. Your faith is revealed in costly obedience. Visible faith is when it's difficult to forgive, but you forgive anyways. Faith becomes visible when generosity stretches you, but you're generous anyways. Faith becomes visible when you speak truth, even if it costs you socially or professionally, but you speak truth anyway. Faith becomes visible when following Jesus becomes inconvenient, but you follow him anyways. Friends, that's when faith is visible. Anyone can say they trust God when it costs nothing. But Kingdom faith says even when obedience is costly, Jesus is still worthy. Please listen. The world does not need more Christians. Who say the right things. The world needs more Christians who live lives that visibly reflect Jesus Christ. The world needs humble people, forgiving people, different people, generous people, transformed people, people whose lives provoke questions that only the gospel of Jesus Christ can answer. That's what our world needs. Let me give you a story. You being so attentive, so let me throw in a story. Several years ago, um, you know, being a foster licensed foster caregiver myself, uh, I am fully immersed in foster care ministry in a variety of different places. And at a conference once, a young person, a young adult who had grown up in the foster care system, was asked the question. And the question was, uh, what do you remember most about your time in foster care? The good things about your time in foster care. And you'd think the person would have remembered that gift they got at their very first Christmas in their very first foster home. That was just an amazing gift. Or you thought you think they would have said, it was that vacation I was able to go on with that foster family I lived with when I was nine and ten years old, or it was this opportunity I was bestowed upon because I was a kid in foster care. None of those were the answers this person gave. You know what they said? What they remembered most about being in foster care? I remember the people who stayed. I remember the foster mom who kept showing up. I remember that church member who kept picking me up for my sporting event practice every week. I remember the family who sat with me in the courtroom. I remember the people who treated me like I mattered. Friends, what struck me about the answer was there was nothing flashy or dramatic about it. No, it was visible acts of love, consistency, presence, commitment, faithfulness, compassion. And church, that's exactly what James is talking about right now. What does Mother Teresa say? None of us can do big things for God, only small things with big love. Our world, hear me, does not need more Christian talk. Our world has seen all the social media posts with the arguments and the opinions. What our world desperately needs in this moment at this crossroad is visible faith, church. Faith that shows up, faith that stays, faith that serves, faith that becomes tangible in the lives of hurting and broken people. I mean, after all, isn't that what Jesus Christ did for us? Like he didn't love us from a distance, did he? No, he stepped in. Again, the second person of our Trinitarian nature, God, condescended himself, came from heaven, left his throne in heaven, came to earth, and fleshed himself with our humanity. He moved them toward us, entered our brokenness, carried our sin, stayed with us when we were unworthy of it, loved us all the way to the cross, where he shed his blood for our salvation. Friends, that's visible love. That's visible grace. And James says real faith reflects that kind of savior. James ends with this verse in verse 26. For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead. You know, faith, church, visible faith is about moving down this pathway of perfection. Let me do a little church doctrine just for a quick moment. As good Methodists, we got to reclaim some of our heritage. And one of the trademark beliefs of the Methodist movement 250 years ago is this idea of Christian perfection. It was the idea that we have the capacity to be made holy as Christ is holy, to become entirely sanctified, to be perfected in love and this idea of sinless perfection. Now you're all thinking there's no way this side of heaven I could ever be entirely sanctified or be perfected in love. Well, hold on a second, let me push back. On Christmas, what do we celebrate? God with us, right? At the cross in the empty tomb, what do we celebrate? God for us. And at Pentecost, the birthday of the church, what do we celebrate? God in us. Which means if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, the perfect God lives inside of you, which means you have been bestowed upon, endowed with the capacity to pursue this idea, this reality of Christian perfection. Yes, you, even you, can become entirely sanctified. Now, with all of that said, perfection is not a prerequisite to visible faith. It's direction, it's moving forward, it's going further up and further in into the things of Christ. It's living a life that is increasingly being shaped by surrender to Jesus Christ. And friends, maybe the Holy Spirit in this hour is exposing areas in your own life where your faith has become mostly words instead of surrender or instead of action. Maybe you're a person who knows a lot about Jesus, but you've never really fully entrusted your life to Jesus. Maybe for you, your faith has become too familiar, too passive, too convenient, too compartmentalized. Friends, hear me, Jesus did not condescend from heaven and go to a cross and die for the sake of us, to make us more religious. He shed his blood so we could be forgiven, so we could be made new. Jesus Christ lived the life you and I could not live in perfect obedience to the Father. He died the death, you and I were destined to die, and three days later he rose again. Why? So people like me and you, broken people, could be forgiven and changed and made new. And when that reality grips your heart, when you really understand grace to the point where it slaps your soul, you can't help but make that faith visible. This morning I want to give us a chance to respond to the hearing of God's word. You know, we started something in the beginning of Lent where we've opened up an invitation to the altar rails at Church of the Lakes. And I'm really wanting this to be a new element of worship for us each and every week. And the reason being is I think when the Holy Spirit touches at least my heart, sometimes my most eloquent prayer back to the Father is not with word, it's with movement. It's with stepping up, stepping out, and kneeling before the living God. That's why I want these altar rails open for us each week. I I had this conviction months ago that if the preacher's not going to invite Jesus, people to Jesus, who is, right? And so every week I want that invitation to be to you, to come to Jesus. With whatever baggage you're carrying, that you come to Jesus. Not because coming up to the altar saves you, not because it makes you more spiritual than the people who don't come. But if you are to walk through the canon of Scripture, if we are to have biblical faith, if you walk through the canon in Scripture, what you see is that when God stirred a person's heart, they couldn't help but respond physically. They knelt, they wept, they worshiped, they surrendered. And again, I know this is sort of new for some of us here, but we're going back to our Methodist heritage, friends. We're going back to when Methodism was not a church, but a movement of the Holy Spirit. Who wants to see a movement of the Holy Spirit in America today? Amen. And so part of this invitation is that. So some of you may come as we stand and say to kneel at this altar, praise be to God. You know, some of you may be here and you've never really given your life to Jesus Christ for the very first time. I want you to name him as your Lord and Savior today. Friends, he has a future that is prosperous and it is waiting for you. And maybe your prayer in order to do that is simply to come and kneel. Maybe you need a renewed faith. Maybe you're realizing, you know what, there is a disconnect between what I believe in my head and how I live out my faith with my hands. Lord, can you help me figure that out? If that's you, come, come to this altar. Maybe you want to come and just kneel for the sake of someone else. A prodigal child, a grandchild that's not being raised in the faith or for healing. If that's you, come and come and kneel before your king. Because perhaps one of the most visible acts of faith we can make is an act of humility. It's kneeling before a sovereign and holy God. It's leaving our seats. It's saying with our bodies what we long to speak in our soul. Jesus, I surrender. So I'm going to pray in a moment and we're going to stand and sing. Master, let me walk with thee. And if you want to come and kneel alongside me, please come and kneel. If you need prayer, I'd love to pray with you. But let us pray right now. Lord Jesus, I want to thank you for your grace that saves through faith alone. God, I want to ask for your forgiveness for the times that our faith has remained hidden when you have called us to live with visible obedience even when it's costly. God, will you, by the power of your Holy Spirit, in the midst of this moment, make our faith evident in the way we love, in the way we give, in the way we serve, in the way we care, and the way we forgive other people. Lord, give us the courage to follow you wherever you lead, and to trust you even when obedience is costly. Lord, may our lives reflect the heart of our King, King Jesus, so that others may see him, give glory to you, and be drawn into your family. We ask this in the strong name of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and all God's people said. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 32:17

Thank you for listening to the Church of the Lakes podcast with Pastor Jared Preset. If today's message encouraged you and helped you grow as a devoted follower of Christ, we invite you to subscribe so you never miss an episode. You can also help others discover this podcast by leaving a five-star rating or review and sharing it with your friends, family, co-workers, and others in your circle of influence. We're also very grateful for your generosity, which helps make messages like this available to more people. If you feel led to give, please check the link in the description. And if you're in the Kent, Ohio area, we'd love to invite you to join us in person on Sunday and worship together. To learn more about Church of the Lakes, visit churchofthelakes.org or click the website link in the description. Until next time, stay encouraged and keep walking in faith.