00:00:00 Thanks for joining me on Episode 5 40 seven of the inspired Stewardship podcast. I'm Mark A. Ho, author of Building Wealth and Living in Faith. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talent and your treasures toe live out your calling. Having the right relationship between faith and money is key to doing that, and one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this. The inspired stewardship podcast with my friend Scott made her We're called to do both recalled to have our works and our faith boat live out.
00:01:05 And it's through our faith that our works take form. It's only because we have faith that our works end up being worthy. Welcome and thank you for joining us on the inspired stewardship.
00:01:19 Podcasts. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time,
00:01:26 your talent and your treasures for your true calling in the inspired stewardship Podcast will learn to invest in yourself,
00:01:34 invest in others and develop your influence so that you can impact the world and today, spiritually Foundation episode about developing your influence.
00:01:55 I talk with you about James. Chapter two versus 14 through 26. I talk about how faith is shown by works if it's a living faith and how this is another example of a both and rather than an either or when it comes to our lives.
00:02:13 So James, Chapter two versus 14 through 26 says this. What good is it? My brothers and sisters?
00:02:19 If someone claims have faith but has no deeds, can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
00:02:29 If one of you says to them, Go in peace, keep warm and well fed but does nothing about their physical needs.
00:02:35 What good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action,
00:02:41 is dead. But someone will say you have faith and I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
00:02:51 You believe there is one God good. Even the demons believe that and shudder you foolish person. Do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
00:03:02 Was on our father, Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac, on the altar.
00:03:07 You see that his faith in his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did,
00:03:14 and the scripture was fulfilled. That says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
00:03:20 And he was called God's friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do, and not by faith alone.
00:03:27 In the same way was not even Rihab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction.
00:03:37 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. Now here's an interesting thing.
00:03:45 There's another passage in the Bible that also says it is not by works but by faith that were justified.
00:03:53 And at first glance it sounds like this is saying that by works were justified. But that's not actually what this is saying.
00:04:03 If you read it and you really pay attention to it, it's not saying that faith or works that it's about doing works,
00:04:12 doing good things or it's about having faith. Instead, it's about an and it's about how, because we have faith,
00:04:21 because we look to God as our savior and as our father and is our provider were ableto act out of that faith and do things that are righteous.
00:04:33 Do the good thing to care for other people. Take care of other people's needs, do those sorts of hard things that were called to do.
00:04:42 And in fact, there's another kind of faith that it's illustrating here, where someone goes around and pays lip service to faith.
00:04:48 They say that they have faith. They say that they believe in God. They say that they want to do the right thing,
00:04:56 but they don't actually follow through and ever do anything and that kind of empty faith that dead faith is never seen because there's no action to back it up.
00:05:09 Faith, a living faith is actually acted out by works, not because you have to do them not because,
00:05:19 oh, if I don't do these good things that I'm not going to get into heaven or I'm not gonna get rewarded or are people aren't going to take care of me or I'm not going to get paid money or I'm not going to get it looked at in my church is a holy person and is a good person,
00:05:33 and I'm not gonna be admired by others not out of that sort of selfish drive. But just because it's what you're called to do,
00:05:41 you just do it because the action is part of who you are as that faith becomes internalized and becomes part of your heart,
00:05:51 part of your soul, part of your very bone marrow. Then you can't help but let that faith play out in actions.
00:06:00 This is what I mean by this is another one of those both and kind of things. We talk a lot about both ends,
00:06:06 things that sound at first glance to be opposites or contradictory. Or, you know you can choose one or the other and often were actually called to choose both we're called to do.
00:06:21 Both were called to have our works and our faith both live out, and it's through our faith that our works take form.
00:06:32 It's only because we have faith that our works end up being worthy. You know, the truth is often times,
00:06:40 whatever we're trying to put everything on our own shoulders were dreaming. Our own dreams were looking to our own needs that we don't leave enough room for God to show up because we're not dreaming big enough.
00:06:53 We're not pushing far enough. We're not doing something that is so audacious that there's no way we could do it on our own.
00:07:02 It has to be a God thing, and it's usually only out of opening ourselves up through faith that we begin to be able to dream the big dreams and push for the big things and make the big changes and do the things that God is actually calling us to do.
00:07:20 That's one of the problems that we have. Sometimes we dream and put everything upon our own shoulders when what God wants us to do is show up and put it on God's shoulders.
00:07:33 But it's easy to forget that, and this recognition that it's through our faith that we do our good works is one tool to help you begin to show up where God is and do the work that you're called to do.
00:07:48 Thanks for listening. Thanks so much for listening to the inspired stewardship podcast as a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen.
00:08:05 But act on what you've heard and find a way toe live your calling. If you enjoy this episode,
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00:08:40 your talent and your treasures develop your influence and impact world.