STUDY CONTEXT BEFORE ACTION !

STUDY CONTEXT BEFORE ACTION ! Jesus is telling you and me how the kingdom works. Faith has corresponding action, but we need to define it. You're not going to learn this in what is called church. When James said, "faith without works is dead," he was speaking concerning an individual who needed clothing and food. James said, "if you say to him or her, "I have faith to believe that God will supply your need, then your faith is dead," as far as that man a woman is concerned. Corresponding actions to that man a woman would have been to give him or her some food and some clothes. You might say, "I have faith to believe that God is going to supply all of your need." But are you a giver ? Do you give out of your need ? Giving is a grace based initiative from the New Testament. This is corresponding actions concerning your need. The Word says, "Give, and it shall be given unto you. . ." Someone may say, "Yes, but you don't understand; I don't have enough to give." Well, that's probably why you don't have enough to give, because you are not giving under grace and worshiping God with your gifts. If you don't give, you don't have corresponding actions towards what you say you believe. You must give out of your need. You certainly couldn't give as much as you could if you had abundance. Remember the Scripture in (Luke 21:1-4). "Looking up, (Jesus) so the rich people putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw also a poor widow put it in two mites (copper coins). And He said, truly That I see to you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; For they all gave out of there abundance (their surplus); but she has contributed all of her lack and her want, put in all that she had on which to live." The amplified Bible. But corresponding actions toward that promise would be to give. Little is much, when you give it in faith. The King James Bible says, "And he looked the, and so the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casted in their two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you that this poor widow had cast in more than they all; for all these have come of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God; but she, of her penury, hath casted all the living that she had." Here is an example of this in the corresponding action behind faith. When Jesus was feeding the multitude, the disciple said, "how can we feed all these people ? We have only five loaves and two fish." Jesus said, Bring what you have to Me." Jesus took it and blessed it and begin to break it. Then He gave it to the disciples. Have you noticed that after everyone had eaten, there were 12 baskets full left ? Evidently they had 12 baskets they were using to distribute this food. Jesus broke it, laid it in those baskets and told them to feed the multitude. There were 5000 men there, and with the women and children, perhaps 12,000 people in all. They had to have some corresponding action to start out with such little to feed that multitude. They acted on the words of Jesus.