40 - Faith that Acts

Many believers want change, but remain stuck. This message reveals why. Faith is not only something we confess. It is something we live, walk out, and act on because we trust what God has said. This episode will help you move from confusion to clarity and from stagnation to growth.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to One Gospel, bringing you the full truth of God's Word. Clearly explained. Together with our host, Johann Tuit, we'll unpack scripture to understand what's written and grow as a disciple of Christ. Ready to take notes? Let's open the Bible.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Hi there and welcome to today's episode of One Gospel. I am your host, Jon Toot, and as always, I am excited to share the word of God with you. Now, in today's teaching, I'm gonna start a series called In Christ. The I am series in Christ. And I say I am because you know you hear so much about the AI nowadays, you know. But I believe if you turn it around, not AI, but I, it's gonna be identity authority. I am amen. And so this In Christ series, I believe, gonna be a real blessing for you, and uh it has been a real blessing for me also, and it's still uh growing. The series is still growing, so it's not fully completed yet. But we already have a lot to share on it, so you know we will just start and see how things will go. But before I do so, I just wanted to quickly recommend you know my books. Um, first of all, you know, it's my biography, good enough. Um, it's a really amazing story. You can see the pages, it's black on this side, white on this side. So this is my old life, is my new life. My new life now is like this in white. Amen. You can get your free copies, you can download it, but you can also order your copy for free. You only have to pay for mail costs, and then also uh the book of my wife, um, Brenda Out of the Shadows, amazing testimony, also. And I really believe that these two books, Good Enough and Out of the Shadows, can be a huge blessing also with evangelism. You know, when you start to when you or when you go to a prison or you know, rehabs, or you know, to the homeless, you know, you can bless them with those books because they're really gonna encourage them, and I'm sure of it. And we have a lot of testimonies all over the world, you know, how people are being blessed and found Jesus through those books. So really get those copies. If you are an organization, you email us and we can send you like uh you know, uh a bunch of them so you can use them in your ministry to hand out to people. Um, then I also have the God of Restoration. I've been teaching on a few things of this book. I really want to recommend you to to get that also, and it's all free, as I said. Living in the fullness, the ABC of the gospel. It's it's a really very simple and handy tool that you can use to get people into the fullness that God has for them, and also yourself, of course. And then we have uh true prosperity, the joy of giving, which is talking about you know how uh God's supernatural plan, you know, to build the kingdom is also uh you know uh translated into prosperity, and that prosperity is not what most people think it is. You know, it's uh you know having enough so that we can build the kingdom of God, and it's really it's gonna be an eye-opener, and I'm sure it's gonna bless you a lot. And so just go uh to our website in the link below and you know get those copies and uh you know let me know what you think of it. I really want to hear back from people that really blesses my heart. You know, I don't need it to know that I'm doing the will of God, but it's nice to hear once in a while that man, I read your book and it really blessed me, or I found the Lord through your teachings or through your preachings, or you know, through your studies or through your books. Um, of course, that blesses my heart. I don't need it, but it still blesses me. Amen. Alright, so Father God, thank you for this teaching and thank you for today. I really believe it's gonna be a blessing for the people that hear, and um, I'm gonna give you all the glory in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Not I'm gonna give, I'm giving you all the glory. I've been talking, it's early here, but I've been talking already in Spanish, in Portuguese, and in Dutch, and so now I'm switching to English, you know, bear with me in Jesus' name, que yo no voy a hablar in Espanol. So, anyway, so um today's teaching um I titled you know um the peace and the grace of God, and so um it's just an introduction into the who I the the I am or the I am um the in Christ series, and so we're gonna go there, but um I want to see who we are and what we have and what we can do in Christ Jesus, and it's very important because there are a lot of people, a lot of believers, I must say so, um, that don't know who they are in Christ, they don't know what they have in Christ, and they don't know what they can do in Christ Jesus. You know, and it's sad to say, but it's true, and that's all because a lack of knowledge, a lack of intimacy with God and the Holy Spirit, and you know, just the renewing of the mind and you know, just take your responsibility. And I always think it's uh, you know, I don't say this to judge, but I just you know still like to mention, so maybe it will wake somebody up that is listening, you know. But you know, if if I would meet a girl, let's say I'm not married, let's say Brenda, but I'm not married to Brenda, I just met her. Yes, I just met Brenda for the very first time. I'm looking at her, I think, oh, she's nice, I can eat a sandwich with her, you know. I can eat a cracker with her in the morning, amen. So I'm just looking at her and I think, you know, that's a nice girl, you know. I really want to know her. And so I'm I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna be bold, I'm gonna step to her, you know. I'm gonna I'm gonna talk with her, I'm gonna connect with her, and then you know, we drink something, you know, and we have a little chat. And so, you know, we we get and we hit it off, you know, we like each other, and we say, you know what, we're gonna meet each other again tomorrow. Now, I don't know, you know, but me, if I if I then fall in love the way that I fell in love with Brenda, I wanted to see Brenda every day, 24 hours, seven days a week, because I wanted to be in her presence. I wanted to know everything about her, what she likes, what she didn't like, you know, and how I could impress her, you know, all that stuff. And so, you know, I just want to, I just want to spend time with her. And so Brenda and I, we have spent time together, like constantly, 24-7 and seven days a week constantly sitting on each other's lip. I mean, we were not, it was not like she was in that side of the building and I was in that side of the building. No, we were together, together, you know, like sitting together on the couch, sitting together at the table, being doing together the dishes, going together out, you know, and party together. Everything was together. And so that's why a lot of people, because of the past, of course, people called us Bonnie and Clyde, because the life that we live, we were both crazy. But anyway, that is besides the point, okay? Have grace with me. But the fact is that I wanted to spend time with her to get her to know her, because that's normal in a relationship. And so there are a lot of Christians, they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but then they don't spend time, they don't invest time to get to really know him, to get to really know their father who did all that for them. And I just don't understand. Like, are you truly in love or you just want to be saved? You know, and I don't say this to judge, it's just like that's that's not in my system, you know. I'm like, man, I'm in love with Jesus. I am in love with my father. I want to know everything about him. And if he says that I can know him through the Holy Spirit, then I want to know the Holy Spirit. If he says you can have communion with the Holy Spirit, oh Holy Spirit, please come and have communion with me. I want to I want to have intimacy, I want to have relationship, and I want to know you. And then he says, Well, you read my word and then you will see me, because Jesus says, if you have seen me, then you have seen the father. Now, how do I see Jesus? By reading the word, because he is the word, amen. And so I read the word, I see Jesus, I see the Father. Man, you know, and I'm in love. I want to know him, I want to spend time with him. That's the only reason, the only motivation why I read the Bible. Now, you know, you have to be aware because sometimes if you have a ministry, you're gonna read the Bible on how what you can teach to others and what you can preach to others, and you just oh, what I'm gonna talk about now, what I'm gonna talk about now, and that's that's not good, you know. It's not good. You should just have a relationship with your father, then you start to know him, and and the way that you know him, you want to share with the world. That's basically it. So, anyway, there's a lot of Christians who don't know who they are in Christ Jesus, and I really hope and pray that I can help with the one gospel episodes, with the broadcast. I really can help, you know, to get people to know Jesus, to know the Father, you know, uh a little bit better. And so they will get, you know, turned on to have and develop their own personal relationship with the Lord, which I believe is the only thing that really matters, to be found at the feet of Jesus. Amen. And so today I want to look at grace and peace that we have in Christ Jesus. Now let us both let us all read Ephesians 2, verse 1 and verse 2. It says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus. Verse 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, first of all, we can read here in this letter that Paul is directs his addresses, you know, the saints and the faithful in Christ Jesus. In other beliefs, I'm reading the New King James Version, but some says to the saints and the believers in Christ Jesus. Here it says the saints and the faithful, which is the same. So, you know, um, is there anybody watching today or listening today that is a believer? Because then then he writes this letter to you, you know, and a believer is someone who believes, otherwise, it is no belief. It's not belief, it's not faith. If you if you are a believer who has no faith, if you do not believe, amen. So believing is trusting, you know, and trusting we call faith. Because if I have faith, I'm trusting, you know, what God says. If I have faith in his word, I trust what he says. That's that's basically what faith means. That I just trust you blindly. I walk over water based on what you say in your word. You know, and so now trusting faith is also knowing for sure, without a shadow of a doubt. And so in Hebrews 11:6 it says that without faith, it is impossible to please God, because those who come to God must believe, must trust, must know for sure that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. So believing is something active that we do. You know, we have the faith of God, but then our our portion, our answer is to believe, to act on it, because that's what it says. Believing is acting, it acts on what it says to believe. So if I say that I believe this of God, then I act on that what I say that I believe. And so it's very important, uh, you know, as a born-again Christian, that you that you are aware of what you say that you believe. Because if you say that you believe, then God expects you to act on it, because he who comes to God must act. You must believe, you must act as he is. Man, that's beautiful. So if you say that you believe, but you don't act as he is, you act on what you believe, then your faith is like without works, and then it's dead, and it is no faith at all. It's no trust at all. Now, faith now is the substance of the things that we hoped for and the evidence of the things not seen. And this is Hebrews 11, verse 1. Faith now already says it. Faith now. Faith now means now, at this moment. I act on that what I say that I believe, and I act on it by believing, by acting, by applying it, by doing it, and that will show my faith. So if you see yourself as a believer, it's also important that you walk it out through your faith, that you act on it. That thinks that you say that you're a believer, because if you don't, you know, you can't move mountains. You know, a believer that says that he believes, but doesn't act on it in faith, can't move mountains. But the one that believes, the one that is a believer, that believes that whatever he says, so he has faith in it, you know, that will happen, then it will happen what he says, and he will move mountains. That's Mark 11, 23. Powerful stuff. I'm telling you, by the fruit you will recognize the tree. Amen. And so John says in Luke 3:8, he says, now bring then forth fruits according to your repentance. So if you said that you have repented, if you say that you have turned away and that you changed your mind, and that you are putting on the mind of Christ, you start you start to realize that you cannot save yourself and that you were a miserable sinner, but you need a salvation, then you turn to Christ because you believe that He is your Savior, that He can redeem you and save you and accepting Him as your Lord and your Savior, then you should also show that, you know, by the way that you walk and the way that you talk and the way that you act. You should show that. So it's not just saying, it's also doing. Otherwise, you know, your lips will only produce blanks that will that won't, you know, uh hit the target. Because the blanks, you just you just speak lip surface, you know, sweet talk. It's just you're saying all these things, but there is no faith, there is no true believing in the words that you are saying that you believe. And so there's a lot of those people around, and it's just because they have been taught the way like that. If I just say the right things, then all it's all okay. But you know, God says in one John, uh, sorry, in one Sam Samuel 16, verse 7, God says, you know, that he looks at the heart, he doesn't look at the appearance of man, he looks at the heart. And so what's living in your heart? Are you truly believing what you say? Are you truly believing, you know, that what you say that you believe? Is it is it real for you? Is it solid for you? Is it is it, you know, the substance in your heart, the things that you hoped for, the things that you say that you believe? Man, 1 John 3 18 says, My little children, let us not laugh in word or in tongue, but in deep and in truth. So don't just say, you know, I love you. You know, man. I have uh four children. One of them, you know, is my youngest son. Um, you know, he's uh he's a very special kid. All of them are very special, you know, but with him it's special with explanations, amen. So, but uh I mean, I really, really am completely I love him so much, you know. He is my boy. So, but this guy, you know, he has this thing, you know, of saying like a million times in one sentence, I love you. You know. So you say, Oh, that's so sweet. Well, you know, it's more like uh, you know, he comes into the house, he says, uh, okay, Daddy, I love you, and uh, can I get something? I love you, okay, I love you, I love you, I don't love you. But these words, you know, I love you, I love you, I love you, they are just I don't know how to say that in English, but they're little stop words, you know. It's between the first thing he said and the second thing he said, he just says, I love you. But it means to see you later, talk to you later, okay. It's good, I don't want to talk to you anymore, and it's fine, just give me what I want, you know. Just give me, you know, just you know, oblig, please, you know, whatever I'm asking you. Just that's the only that's his love you, it doesn't have this impact. As for if I'm one of my daughters, they don't my daughters they don't say every day 25,000 times a day, I love you, you know. But when they say it, I feel it because I know it is real, you know, and I know that my other son, you know, my younger son loves me also, man. Boy, he he definitely loves me. It's not the point, it's just the point that he's saying it so much, and you know, I'm like, you know, better don't say it so much anymore. Just show me. You know, just show me through your actions, you know, because my daughters they don't say it too often, but they show me through their actions that they love me. You know, my older son, you know, doesn't say that too often, but when he talks to me, you know, he shows me that he loves me. And my younger son now is starting to show it also. But when he was younger, man, he'll tell me a million times, I love you. So James 2, verse 18, you know, don't just say that you love people, you know, but also, you know, uh don't fool yourself. Let us love in word and tongue, uh, not only in word and tongue, but also in in uh deed and in truth. Amen. And so James 2 verse 18. Um James 2 verse 14 till 18. Sorry, 14 and 18, it says, but each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, no, that's not too. I'm sorry, I'm in the wrong one. Just grace, please. Ephesians uh James 2, verse 14, come on, man. What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and if one of you says to them, Depart in peace, be warm and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also by itself, if it does not have works, faith is dead. Now, someone will say, Ah, you have faith and I have works. Now show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. And this is powerful stuff. Actually, you know, when I um accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, you know, from the very first day I knew that I would share about Him with other people, and I saw in you know, in the in the spirit, I saw like multitudes of people, and it came to pass because you know, like um we are gonna be next year we're gonna be in over 15 different countries to all different cities and villages, you know, to preach the gospel to multitudes of people, and you know, um it's amazing. And then of course, you know, sharing it through this way is all to multitudes of people. But when I got uh when I got for the very first time to share the gospel publicly on the streets, you know, it was in a uh slum in Brazil, and I was standing on the corner of the street and I was I was preaching, you know, and yeah, a few people stopped, and some kids were making fun around, you know, and somebody was dealing there, somebody was fighting there, somebody was drunk there, you know, it was like a mess, big chaos. And I just stood there, you know, this Jesus loves you, and etc. etc. And so my impact was not that too much, was not too much. But then about a few days later, we went back and I brought the pickup and we filled it with a hundred food parcels. We made a hundred food parcels, went to the supermarket, bought all that stuff, made a hundred food parcels that gone back to the there and to to give away the food parcel, not to preach the gospel, but to give the food parcels. And when I was giving the when I came in with it with that thing, man, I'm telling you, there were like swarms of ants, you know. It was like the whole slum was empty and they were all around the truck, you know, like give me something, give me something, give me something, give me, give me, give me, give me. Everybody's broke crazy. In the end, no, I had a lady, you know. Oh man, I blessed her. But she came to me and Brenda and she says, You know what? I'm gonna do you gave away 100 food parcels, you know, and me. What I'm gonna do now? I've got six children. What I'm gonna do? I said, Well, stop making love, you know, to have more mobs to feed. And so she was like, it was like this to me. I said, No, I'm gonna bring you a food parcel, no worries. So, but you know, I just realized, man, this is drawing people. Why? Because I'm not just saying that God loves them, I'm showing that God loves them by the actions that I'm doing, the things that I'm doing. And so I made a decision that whenever I'm gonna do a festival, you know, we organize a lot of festivals all over the world. Whenever I'm gonna do a festival, you know, this cultural festival, to draw the crowds, you know, I'm never gonna go empty-handed. And whenever I go to a uh community of a vela or you know, a slum how you want to call it, you know, whenever I'm gonna go there, I'm never gonna go empty-handed. And you know, we give around 50,000 food passes away each year, you know, uh to the needy. And, you know, we bring stuff for the kids, you know, we bring, you know, we bring clothing, you know, when we go to the homeless, we always bring bread, fruit, water, you know, we always bring clothes, tents, blankets, slippers, flip-flops, you know, that they all use here in Brazil, you know, and all that stuff. I never go empty-handed. And while I go and bring that stuff to them, I immediately have an entrance, you know, to share the gospel with them. So it's really beautiful. But that's what it says here. You know, it says, What does it profit if someone says he has faith but he has not worked? Can faith save him? You know, it's not just faith, it's also the works of faith, you know. It's also, you know, uh anyway. And then it says, if a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to him, Depart in peace, be warm and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? So just preaching and preaching and preaching, but you don't give the people what they really need, then what does it profit? You know, but it's also, you know, you say to people, you know, go. And be blessed, you know, and God loves you and we'll take care of you, etc. So you don't give them anything, you know. Really, a believer that believes will show through his acts of faith, by works, that he believes what he says that he believes. And so you show that in your acting, in your walking, and in your talking. It's impossible to do not have works, you know, if you say that you are a believer. So when Paul writes to the believers and the faithful and the saints, you know, then he he writes in fact to those who act and walk after that what they claim and and um state and say that they believe. These faithful, these saints, these believers, they do not walk as the Gentiles walk in the fertility of their minds. He walks as a child of God and he walks as a disciple of Jesus. He believes what God says, he says what God says, and he does what God says. Because after all, you know, a true believer is obedient to the word of God. Man, I'm sharing a lot here, and I'm sure that a lot of people, you know, uh have a lot of questions maybe also, but I'm definitely sure it's gonna be answered. But um, you know, God, when he calls us, he doesn't only call us to believe that Jesus died for us and then he rose again, which will save you. He also calls you to become a disciple and a follower of Jesus, to become a disciple of the rabbi, the teacher, the master. And you start to follow him and act on everything that you state that you believe, and you act on it in faith. You see, and so that's noticeable, it's tangible, it's not something that is just you say it. People can see it, and God definitely sees it because he sees your heart. Now, you know, before I'm gonna continue in this uh series, you know, let me just pray for people right now that maybe you know you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and maybe you know you already have acted on some things, you know, that God says, you know, about you and what you can do. But maybe you feel that you are stuck and that you just don't know whether God called you to move in that next phase to go and act on that what he laid in your heart. And so I just want to encourage you that the Bible says over and over and over again, go therefore. And so, whatever it is, whatever level you want to step in, you know, whether it's gonna be something that for you to be to be outgoing, to reach out to others, or whether it's just in your personal life, you know, to trust God, whether it is with your finances or something that the doctor had said, but you don't feel comfortable by doing so. You know, whatever it is, you know, if you say that you believe that God is who he says that he is, then act on it and just start applying that what he says in his word. So, Father God, at this moment, in the name of Jesus, I just speak life over my brothers and my sisters, those who are struggling with unbelief, with with with doubt and fear and uncertainties. I I break that yoke and then stop those fiery dots of the wicked one right now in the name of Jesus. And I speak life and an open door, Father, to step into that supernatural faith that you have given us to act on that what they say that they believe. Father, whatever it is, that they will get the boldness and the courage to apply that what they say that they believe, to act on it, to move in it. Maybe it can cost them their job, maybe it can cost them their friends or their family, maybe it can cost them something and they need to bring a sacrifice if I'm gonna if they're gonna act on what they know that is true, but they just didn't do it yet because they are afraid for what kind of reason it is, Father, that that now is gonna be stopped in the name of Jesus, and they're just gonna do it because you say it and they believe it, and so they act on it, Father, and so they will get that supernatural breakthrough what you have for them on the other side. Thank you so much, Father God, in the name of Jesus. Speak life over each and every brother that you may receive and walk in that what God says that you can walk in. Act on it as He said that you can. I release you now in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, so my time is up, and I hope to see you back in the new episode of One Gospel. God bless you.

SPEAKER_00 26:53

Thanks for tuning in to One Gospel. If this message encouraged you, be sure to share it with your friends so they can be blessed too. Want more teachings and tools to grow in your faith? Visit onegospel.com and subscribe to our newsletter today. Until next time on One Gospel, where the full truth of God's word is clearly explained.