Foundations of Faith Part 1 – Lawson Perdue – 12/16/2024

Praise the Lord, friends, and welcome to the broadcast. Today I’m gonna be sharing from James on the Foundations of Faith, and we’re beginning in chapter one on the wisdom of faith. The wisdom of faith says that God is good all the time. That is the message of the scripture. So open your heart and receive the good word of God today. I believe you’re gonna be blessed. Let your friends know about this broadcast. James was one of those who heard the word and did it. James was the pastor of the church at Jerusalem. And when he’s writing, he’s writing to the Jewish people, not only those in his church, Jewish believers in his church, but Jewish believers really scattered around the world in different areas. James really talks to us about the subject of faith. Chapter one, he talks about the wisdom of faith. Chapter two, the action of faith. Chapter three, the words of faith. Chapter four, the humility of faith. In chapter five, he talks about the patience of faith. And so it’s a great book on faith. It was written depending on who you read, about 40 to 48 AD, so it was the earliest of the scriptures accepted into the canon of the New Testament. So I want you to open your heart as we study from the book of James. He says, “James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” So he knew God and he knew Jesus and served Him. He says to the 12 tribes, to the Jewish people scattered abroad, “Greetings.” He begins in verse two through verse 11, and he’s talking about faith in trial. How does your faith stand in trial? I submit to you that if you don’t have faith in trial, you probably don’t really have faith at all. And so he says this beginning in verse two, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into different kind of trouble.” Now, I don’t know about you. That is not always a joyous occasion when you’re facing different trials, when you’re facing different troubles. Of course, if you study church history, you know that the early church was persecuted. Jesus actually talked about persecution, and He said, “Listen, rejoice and be exceedingly glad when you’re persecuted.” I don’t know about you, if you’ve ever been persecuted, but it’s not always exciting. It’s not always a joyous occasion when you’re persecuted, especially for righteousness sake. In fact, we’ll turn and read in Matthew 5:10-12 Jesus says this, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men will revile you and persecute you.” He says, “And they will say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.” Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Now Matthew chapter 24, Jesus talks about end times things, and he says one sign of His coming, one sign of the end times is persecution. He said, “You will be persecuted among all nations for my namesake.” He speaks, number one, to Jews, number two, to Christian believers, gentile believers. Persecution comes with the Christian life. Depending on where you’re at, you may experience more or less of it, but the scripture does say this in 2 Timothy 3:12. “All who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” So if you aren’t suffering any persecution, I’ll tell you one way to get some, just turn up the Godly a little bit and you’ll probably see some. But he’s talking about having faith when you’re facing difficulty, faith when you’re being persecuted, faith when you’re having problems, faith when you’re dealing with issues that you’re not really believing for. In fact, Jesus said this in John 16:33. He said, in the world, you shall have tribulations but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world. Why do bad things happen to good people? Bad things happen to good people because we’re in a world that’s been affected by sin and affected by Satan, and Satan is the god of this world. He’s the god of this present evil age. Count it all joy. Paul writes from a prison in Philippians 4:4, where he’s been in prison for preaching the gospel. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice. Count it all joy when you fall into different kinds of trouble knowing this. The trying of your faith works patience, but let patience have her complete work, her perfect work that you may be complete and mature, wanting nothing. The Bible actually says in Hebrews 6:12, speaking about the realm of faith, we are to follow those who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises. You know what, if you’re gonna receive very many of God’s promises, you’ve gotta learn how to put patience with your faith. Thank God, about 46 years ago, I first heard the full gospel preached, and I found out that the Bible has a lot of promises, including salvation in heaven, which I already knew about, but there are promises for health, there’s promises for peace, there’s promises for provision, there’s promises for freedom. And I started believing that 46 years ago. Guess what, I’ve had some challenges between then and now, but I’ll tell you, I’ve won a lot more than I’ve lost. But not every battle is a short battle. Sometimes things that you believe for, It takes a long, long time. In fact, Jesse Duplantis told me this. He said, “Lawson,” he said, “a lot of people just can’t go the distance in the realm of faith, and you’re talking about things that you know in your heart that God’s spoken to you, that you know in your heart they’re true, but you’re not seeing a physical manifestation of it. And most people can’t be look beyond what they see, and so a lot of people aren’t prepared to go the distance of faith with you.” And I’ll tell you, some of the battles we’ve faced in physical healing have been more than a year, but we’ve continued to believe God and we have received those miracles. Some of the battles that we’ve stood through in ministry have lasted several years, but we’ve continued to believe, and we’ve won. Some of those things that God has showed us in the future, some of them have been way out there, but you know what, we just keep believing. We never ever quit believing. And so Jesus says you have to have patience with your faith if you’re gonna receive the promises of God. Follow those who, through pa faith and patience, inherit the promise. He says this in verse five, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally and does not upbraid us.” He does not rebuke us. He does not accuse us. How many of you glad that God’s not rebuking you or accusing you or thinking evil of you when you ask for wisdom? And one of the major things that we need in the realm of faith is we need wisdom. And so he says if you ask faith, He’s gonna give it abundantly to you, and He’s not gonna accuse you, He’s not gonna be upset with you for asking. So go ahead and ask. Thank God for wisdom. The Bible says that wisdom makes known her voice. She cries in the street. Whoever is simple, come here. In other words, God’s wisdom is available for everybody if you’re looking for it and if you’re listening. So keep listening. He says, “When you ask for wisdom,” in verse six, “let’s ask in faith, nothing wavering, for he who waves is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed, for let not that man think he will receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways.” If you’re gonna receive the promises of God, you can’t be double-minded. You can’t believe it one minute and waver the next. You can’t be like a wave of the sea. What happens with the waves of the sea? When the next one comes up, that one just goes under and it goes back to the other side. It’s constantly rolling, going back and forth, back and forth. It’s never received. You gotta get planted, you gotta get established, and you’ve gotta keep believing the word of God. Years ago, Andrew Wommack made a statement that really stuck with me about the realm of faith. He said, at the end of the day, faith is a choice. And you look at the promise of the word of God on one side, and you look at the problem on the other side, you look at the circumstances and then you’ve gotta make a decision what you’re gonna believe. Are you gonna believe the Bible? Are you gonna believe the word of God? Are you gonna believe what God says about you, what God says about the situation, or are you gonna believe the problem, just looking at the circumstances? Because a lot of times you’re believing God, but the circumstances can be quite contrary to what you’re believing. But you gotta keep believing the word of God because faith is really a choice. He says, “Let the brother of a low degree,” in verse nine, “rejoice in that he is exalted, but the rich in that he is made low because as the flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with burning heat but has withered the grass and the flower falls away, so the grace of the fashion of it perishes so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.” What he’s saying there is faith is impartiable Did you know what, faith will work for anybody anywhere. Jesus says in Mark 11:24, “Whatsoever you ask, believe that you receive it and you shall have it.” So faith works on whatsoever. But just before that, Jesus talks how faith works in verse 23 and says, “Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, shall have whatsoever he says.” Faith works for whosoever and faith works on whatsoever, and your faith is working, believe it or not, and faith is completely impartial. The Bible actually tells us in Romans 2:11 that God is no respecter of persons. When you talk about the gospel, the gospel is not about your race, it’s not about your religion, it’s not about your gender, it’s not about your class. James is talking about the rich and the poor. It really doesn’t matter whether you’re rich, whether you’re poor, whether you’re an employee, whether you’re an employer, whether you’re a man, whether you’re a woman, whether you’re a Jew, or whether you’re a gentile. Faith in Jesus works for everybody everywhere, and it’s always the same. Friends, we’ve been sharing today from Foundations of Faith. I have a lot more to say in the realm of faith. And we have all of these teachings online, downloadable audio, downloadable video from live in our church. We would love to have you receive them and many others free of charge. So check us out at charischristiancenter.com. Sometimes you think, “Well, now that I’m believing God, I’m not gonna have these difficulties. I’m not gonna have these problems.” He said, immediately, after you, the light turned on. When the word is sown in their heart, the enemy comes to steal the word. Satan is an enemy of the word. Remain bold in your confession of faith. The next thing that James addresses when he’s talking about this subject of faith, if we begin in verse 12, is he begins to talk about the goodness of God. A good friend of mine, Barry Bennett, just a few years ago, was diagnosed with cancer. In fact, they told him that he had less than 24 hours to live, but Barry made a choice. Barry made a choice to believe God, and Barry through the grace of God, a lot of medical intervention and a lot of faith is completely healed and completely whole today, and I thank God. But Barry said this, Barry said, “Since that period of time, I began to study on the goodness of God, and studying about the goodness of God has caused me to grow in faith more than studying faith itself.” I really believe that. The Bible actually says this in Romans 10:17. The scripture said, “Now then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Or if you study the Literal Greek, it says something like this in the Literal Greek. Now then faith comes by declaration and declaration by the mouth of God. And if you study the Old Testament, the Old Testament is a progressive revelation of who God said that he is. He says, “I’m your provider. I’m your healer. I’m your deliverer. I’m your sanctification. I’m your peace and your prosperity. I am your righteousness. And I am the Lord who is there.” He says that all throughout the Old Testament. There’s seven redemptive names of God. He’s revealing to people who that He is. Faith comes by declaration and declaration by the word of God or the mouth of God. So whenever someone comes and declares who God said that He is, He is your provider, He is your healer, He is your deliverer, He is your sanctification, He is your peace in your provision. He says that one twice. It’s a different aspect of it. He is your righteousness and He is the Lord who is there. That causes faith to come. Inevitably when you study the life of Jesus, Jesus reveals who the Father is. He reveals that He’s our provider, He’s our healer, He’s our deliverer, He’s our peace, He’s our ever present help in a time of trouble. And when you study Paul’s letters and you study the gospels or the epistles, you find out that Jesus has taken up residence in you as a believer, and you have all of those attributes of God on the inside of you in Christ. But when you believe the scripture, you begin to move into those promises that God made available to you through Jesus. So God promised that Jesus paid for it and you receive it by faith. Amen. But faith is not impartial. And you know what, faith is built on a foundation of an understanding of who God is. And number one, God is a good God. A lot of people are accusing God of things that He’s never done. And the scripture actually says this as we read through here. Let’s begin to read in verse 12. “Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he’s tried, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Let no man say when he’s tempted, when you’re having trouble, when you’re having difficulty, when you’re having problems, do not say that God is author of your trouble. Do not say that God is the author of your sin, of your sickness, of your lack, of your anxiety. Do not say that God is the author of your bondage, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempted He any man. God is a good God and he’s always good. I’ll talk about that more in a minute. Every man, when he’s tempted, he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. When lust has conceived, it brings forth sin. And sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. You know what, if you have a bad thought, guess what, it is not a sin to have a bad thought, but you can stop sin in the thought process. And no one ever goes from red hot, on fire, loving Jesus, serving Jesus to just serving the devil. It’s a process and you begin to, you see something, or you hear something, or you begin to think about something, and you begin to meditate, and you begin to go places in your mind that you should not go. And if you don’t stop it in the thought process, that seed thought will become… It’ll begin to grow. But you can deal with it in the thought realm. Let me give you an example. Before I got baptized in the Holy Spirit, as a young man, I had a terrible problem with swearing, cussing as we call it in the country. Okay? When I got baptized in the Holy Spirit when I was 14, it got some better, but I still had some aspects with it. And it wasn’t till that I was 30 years old and I got a revelation of grace that I really begin to defeat that devil and win at a whole new level. Amen. But years ago, I was preaching in Chicago and I kinda made a joke, and I said, “You know what, I hardly ever cuss anymore, but I think about it almost every week because I pastor a church and I got a lot of people.” And somebody got mad at me saying that I thought about cussing. I thought, well, I don’t wanna really go there because they had to be pretty religious to tell you the truth. But you know what, it’s not a sin to have an evil thought. It’s not a sin to have a bad thought. We all have them occasionally, but you can stop it in the thought realm. You can stop it before it is conceived. You can stop it before it grows. You can stop it before it has an action. Amen. Hallelujah. But don’t blame God. God is not the author of death. He’s not the author of evil. He’s not the author of sin. He’s not the author of sickness. He’s not the author of poverty. He’s not the author of anxiety. He’s not the author of fear. He’s not the author of evil. That’s what he says. And then he tops it off with this. Do not err, my beloved brethren.” Don’t change from this. And he tells us a little bit more. And I like to tie verse 16 with verse 17. “Do not err, my beloved brethren, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. If God gives something. It’s good and it’s perfect because that’s who God is, and that’s all He can give. What are he saying? He radiates absolute, pure, glorious light. And everything that comes from Him is good. It’s always good. Amen. But keep believing God. Amen. Because good things happen when you keep believing God. Hallelujah, so there’s a process. Number one, you’re born of the word. Number two, He says this, you’ve got to receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your soul because you’ve got this thing, your spirit. The word is germinated there, but you’ve got your soul. That’s gestation. Gestation is the time between germination and you’ve got your body over here where you have harvest. Amen. Does that make sense? And if you lose hope right here in the gestation period, just like you can abort a sin thought, you can abort the promise and receive the problem. And some of them just don’t happen overnight. Okay? But keep believing ’cause the word is good and it always works. Amen. All right, so he says receive with meekness. In fact, Jesus said in Mark chapter four, everything works according to the parable of the sower and the seed. And in verse 20, He said this, He said, “These are they who are sown on good ground. Those who hear the word and receive the word with,” right, “and bring forth fruit.” Some 30, some 60, some a hundred fold. He says here we gotta receive the word with meekness. In other words, you need to take a meek humble attitude towards the word of God, that God’s word is always right, and if there’s a problem, there is not a problem with God, there’s not a problem with the word, the problem lies with me. Amen. In fact, they sung a song about it years ago. ♪ It’s me, it’s me, it’s me oh Lord ♪ ♪ Standing in the need of prayer ♪ ♪ Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me oh Lord ♪ ♪ Standing in the need of prayer ♪ ♪ That’s a true song. ♪ Hallelujah. When you’re always pointing this finger at somebody else, guess what, you’re not gonna get very far in the realm of faith. So number one, you’re born to the word. Number two, receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to change your mind, save your soul. Amen. Number three, he says this, be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own self. If you’re not letting the word of God become an active force in your life… James is a pastor. He said, “Listen, you gotta put your money where your mouth is. Quit just talking about it and let the word become active in your life.” Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own self. James chapter two is all written really talking about the action of faith. And he says in James 2:16, he says, “Faith without works is dead.” And then he says again in verse 20, “Don’t you know, o vain man, that faith without corresponding action is dead.” And he says again in verse 26, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Amen. If you wanna get healed, get out of bed. If you wanna get healed, start acting like you’re healed. Start moving toward your miracle. Amen. Start acting like what God said about you is true. Glory to God. So he goes on. So number one, you’re born of the word. Number two, you receive with meekness the engrafted word. Number three, he says become doers of the word, not hearers only. He says in verse 23, “For if any man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he’s like a natural man looking in the mirror. He looks at himself and goes his way and forgets who he was.” Don’t forget who you are. Look into the mirror of God’s word. Find out who Jesus is. Find out who God says you are. And just keep living like that. Friends, we’ve been sharing about faith in God, and if you’re gonna have true faith in God, you’re gonna know that he’s always good. God is always good and He has a good plan for your life. If you need prayer today, I wanna invite you to call us. We have trained prayer ministers here waiting to receive your calls. Thanks so much for tuning in and being with us, and we’d love to hear from you if you want a partner also. Blessings.

Announcer If you’re gonna live for Jesus, it will take both faith and wisdom. God has a great plan for your life, and any plan He designs takes faith to bring it to pass. The Book of James is full of incredible wisdom. Pastor Lawson’s five-part teaching, “Foundations of Faith: Lessons from James,” will unpack that wisdom. The digital download is a $25 value, yours free today. Download ’em now at charischristiancenter.com.

Friends, it’s great to have you with us today, and I wanna invite you to attend services with us at Charis Christian Center in Colorado Springs. The atmosphere is amazing. Recently in one service, I had people from 10 nations in several states. They watch us on a regular basis online, and they said, “This is amazing.” So if you can’t come physically, come and attend online at Charis Christian Center or YouTube. Blessings. Friends, in the last few months, we have heard from over 50 nations in the world. People from all around the world are downloading our curriculum, our syllabus, our downloadable audio and downloadable video teachings, our confession cards, and all of these great teaching materials. And you can go receive it too at charischristiancenter.com. Receive these resources and be blessed.

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