5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
James teaches about the relationship between our faith and our works - if we have that inward relationship with Jesus and have experienced salvation personally, then there will be outward expression in the form of good works. We don't work to be saved, but we work because we are saved. Because we love Jesus, we desire for Him to have His way with us and to produce through our lives tangible, observable acts that point to His indwelling presence.
We are certainly saved by faith, and the outward expression of our inward relationship with Christ is through the works that are produced by the presence of Christ flowing through us. James chapter 2
addresses the concept:
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
I want to share a quote that was delivered several weeks ago that is quite attention-getting. This world leader said this about his country:
He was speaking to an event called the Festival of Life, which attracted some 45,000 people. It was led by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the general overseer of the Nigerian Pentecostal Redeemed Christian Church of God. Giving a keynote speech, Cameron joked that catering the event "must be like feeding the 5,000... you must be relieved that it's just spiritual food on the menu tonight."
Cameron is quoted as saying, "...as God's children we are all one big family..." He told those gathered that while as a young boy he thought churches had to look a certain way, with a slate roof, a large spire, pews and a pulpit. He said, "you've proved that church is people, church is a family, and it doesn't matter what the roof is made of, because with your energy, your devotion, your love of Jesus Christ, you raise that roof every time."
Another quote: "Like Jesus turning water into wine, you turn loneliness into companionship, you turn deprivation into comfort [and] you turn lost lives into lives with purpose."
Colin Bloom, the head of the Conservative Christian Fellowship (CCF), tweeted that it was one of the most "significant days" in his time with the organization. He told Christian Today, "I was so proud to see the prime minister of the United Kingdom talk so passionately about his faith, and the fact that this is a Christian country, in front of nearly 50,000 Christians."
He also took issue with the suggestion that Cameron was merely trying to court the Christian vote is "complete rubbish." He added, "What he said on Friday is completely consistent with what the prime minister has been saying in every Easter message and every Christmas message... there is nothing new in the prime minster engaging with Christians in a very positive way."
The Telegraph reported that Cameron "...won yesterday's general election with an outright majority after Labour was virtually wiped out in Scotland and the Liberal Democrat vote collapsed." The report says that the Prime Minister, "hailed the 'sweetest victory' as his party secured the 323 seats needed to form a government without needing to go into coalition." His party is known as the Conservatives, or the Tories.
So, congratulations to Mr. Cameron. It's been quite a week in Great Britain - last Saturday, the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, wife of Prince William, gave birth to a baby girl, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, and now the British elections are in the history books.
And, I think it's notable that the Prime Minister doesn't back away from saying that his nation is a Christian nation. Now, without exploring the dynamics of the relationship between the Church of England and the British government, suffice it to say that our founders did not envision a "state church," but as Jerry Newcombe noted on my program yesterday, Thomas Jefferson, writer of the Declaration of Independence, did not embrace the philosophy of a separation of God and government that we see prevalent today.
So, today, I want to offer three points to ponder:
Number one, do we really as a nation want to eliminate the presence of God from our political leaders? I think it's interesting that you've heard a number of the announced candidates for president have some sort of faith story; some do not shy away from expressing their faith - it is part of the fabric of who they are, and you would hope that our leaders, if they are Christian, would not separate their faith from the way that they govern. Yesterday, people across the nation prayed for our leaders on the National Day of Prayer, and that's incredibly important - perhaps the single most important work that each of us as Christians can do if we want to see a reversal of the moral decline in our nation and a change of direction overall is to cry out to God in prayer.
And, as we examine ourselves, we have to think about ways that we might tend to separate God from the government of our lives. Is He really in control of our decisions? Do we keep what we might regard as the spiritual component of our lives separated from our work, our homes, and our relationships? God wants to flow through every area of our lives, and it is our responsibility to allow Him to have His way for His glory.
Finally, as believers in Christ, we can shape what we are known for. Cameron talked about the charitable activities in which the church is involved. James wrote about allowing our faith to be demonstrated by our works. With an attitude of compassion, we can be involved in ministering to the needs of others and allow the character of Christ to be seen in us.
+++++
We are certainly saved by faith, and the outward expression of our inward relationship with Christ is through the works that are produced by the presence of Christ flowing through us. James chapter 2
addresses the concept:
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
I want to share a quote that was delivered several weeks ago that is quite attention-getting. This world leader said this about his country:
"Tonight let us be proud that this is a Christian country, where we stand for the freedom to practice your faith, and where we stand up for Christians and all those who are persecuted anywhere in our world, they are family too."That is a quote from the Christian Today website from a world leader who, just yesterday, led his party to a stunning victory in his nation's election. Yes, these words were spoken by David Cameron, the newly re-elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
He was speaking to an event called the Festival of Life, which attracted some 45,000 people. It was led by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the general overseer of the Nigerian Pentecostal Redeemed Christian Church of God. Giving a keynote speech, Cameron joked that catering the event "must be like feeding the 5,000... you must be relieved that it's just spiritual food on the menu tonight."
Another quote: "Like Jesus turning water into wine, you turn loneliness into companionship, you turn deprivation into comfort [and] you turn lost lives into lives with purpose."
Colin Bloom, the head of the Conservative Christian Fellowship (CCF), tweeted that it was one of the most "significant days" in his time with the organization. He told Christian Today, "I was so proud to see the prime minister of the United Kingdom talk so passionately about his faith, and the fact that this is a Christian country, in front of nearly 50,000 Christians."
He also took issue with the suggestion that Cameron was merely trying to court the Christian vote is "complete rubbish." He added, "What he said on Friday is completely consistent with what the prime minister has been saying in every Easter message and every Christmas message... there is nothing new in the prime minster engaging with Christians in a very positive way."
The Telegraph reported that Cameron "...won yesterday's general election with an outright majority after Labour was virtually wiped out in Scotland and the Liberal Democrat vote collapsed." The report says that the Prime Minister, "hailed the 'sweetest victory' as his party secured the 323 seats needed to form a government without needing to go into coalition." His party is known as the Conservatives, or the Tories.
So, congratulations to Mr. Cameron. It's been quite a week in Great Britain - last Saturday, the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, wife of Prince William, gave birth to a baby girl, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, and now the British elections are in the history books.
And, I think it's notable that the Prime Minister doesn't back away from saying that his nation is a Christian nation. Now, without exploring the dynamics of the relationship between the Church of England and the British government, suffice it to say that our founders did not envision a "state church," but as Jerry Newcombe noted on my program yesterday, Thomas Jefferson, writer of the Declaration of Independence, did not embrace the philosophy of a separation of God and government that we see prevalent today.
So, today, I want to offer three points to ponder:
Number one, do we really as a nation want to eliminate the presence of God from our political leaders? I think it's interesting that you've heard a number of the announced candidates for president have some sort of faith story; some do not shy away from expressing their faith - it is part of the fabric of who they are, and you would hope that our leaders, if they are Christian, would not separate their faith from the way that they govern. Yesterday, people across the nation prayed for our leaders on the National Day of Prayer, and that's incredibly important - perhaps the single most important work that each of us as Christians can do if we want to see a reversal of the moral decline in our nation and a change of direction overall is to cry out to God in prayer.
And, as we examine ourselves, we have to think about ways that we might tend to separate God from the government of our lives. Is He really in control of our decisions? Do we keep what we might regard as the spiritual component of our lives separated from our work, our homes, and our relationships? God wants to flow through every area of our lives, and it is our responsibility to allow Him to have His way for His glory.
Finally, as believers in Christ, we can shape what we are known for. Cameron talked about the charitable activities in which the church is involved. James wrote about allowing our faith to be demonstrated by our works. With an attitude of compassion, we can be involved in ministering to the needs of others and allow the character of Christ to be seen in us.
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