A Child Shall Lead Them
He was only ten but our little boy was allowed to accompany us across the ocean for his first mission trip. Even though he was young, he was a pretty good bass player. Our choir and band traveled by bus all over Eastern Europe, proclaiming the Gospel message through song. On a stop near Romania, we were enjoying box lunches provided by one of the churches. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed our son collecting leftovers. He wasn’t just cleaning up our surroundings; he was on a mission of his own. He had seen a need outside the window we grown-ups had missed. A sickly looking man was eating garbage out of a trash barrel. Our mini-missionary was determined to do something about it and approached him with his offering. The stranger didn’t make eye contact or even get close (for which I was grateful). He simply held out a long stick to retrieve his care package. I admit I was relieved, as well as a little proud, when our son walked back up the bus stairs. Without words, he had proclaimed his faith.
But this wasn’t the only time we noticed his tender heart. When he was in fourth grade, he befriended a little boy who was bussed in from a section of town most of us would usually avoid. The two of them really hit it off and soon had play time at our house. While watching them shoot hoops in the backyard, we noticed they had exchanged shoes, grinning from ear to ear. Without being prodded to give away his favorite sneakers to someone less fortunate, our child showed us once again what it meant to express his faith. His friend wore the shoes home for keeps. The Bible does say a child shall lead them. May we follow.
Read Romans 10:8-10
1. Where is the Word of Faith?
2. What should we do with this faith?
Read James 2:14-22
3. How must our faith be expressed?
4. Contrast James’ example of living out our faith with something you could do today?
5. When is faith dead or powerless? How is faith made complete?
The Word of faith is actually the Gospel. It is near us, in our hearts and on our lips so we can proclaim it. Making our faith complete is more than wishing a hungry man or needy boy a good day. It’s doing something about it. Notice how the New Living Bible translates this passage.
“Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing and you say, ‘Well, good bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well,’ but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?”
True faith transforms our conduct as well as our thoughts. While we don’t earn our salvation by what we do, our actions verify that our faith is in Christ alone and our commitment to Him is real. May all of us find ways to express the Word of Faith so others may come to the Truth.
So then the word of faith and faith is not just about “naming and claiming” or asking and receiving but also about giving and meeting the needs of others.
The FAITH is in our hearts – mouth – it is within our very being – we get our hearts right with the LORD and then we have faith within ourselves at all times. FAITH helps you and me to do many things in our daily walks which we cannot do with the LORD on our side at all times. We use FAITH many times in our daily walk with the LORD – we must show it to other people who touch our lives and it makes them stronger. We should all have FAITH in our lives as a small child – the small child shall lead them. Along with our FAITH comes our works for the LORD also – our FAITH and works go hand in hand in our daily walk with the LORD. You and I have many things in our lives and we can help the homeless and the less fortunate people around us – FAITH needs works – without both of these together then FAITH is dead – FAITH is made perfect by works – The church we attend in Orlando FL – The Focal Point Church prepares food for Homeless people 2 times a month – Trina and I take 2 large pans of food and each pan feeds 50 people – this is so wonderful. We just helped fill school back packs for 216 children – we supplied enough for 10 back packs – This is showing how FAITH and WORKS go together in our lives. Another wonderful lesson – Karen – I enjoy them so much and gives each one of us a lot of things to think about the rest of the week. Thank you.