Proverbs 29:18 (NASB) “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law.”

Where there is no vision, no divine guidance, no prophetic vision, no redemptive revelation of God, the people cast off restraint.  In other words, they will run wild in sin.  Doesn’t that describe many people in America and the world?  Tyler Perry, a movie producer, once said that “Hollywood told me to say No to Jesus.”  He also said that “It doesn’t matter if a million people tell you what you can’t do, or ten million tell you no.  If you get one yes from God, that is all you need.”  Where there is no vision, no divine guidance people will do anything for money.  People will lie, cheat, become power-hungry, curse, swear, laugh at risqué, indecent, racy, suggestive, improper, naughty, off-color, locker-room; vulgar, dirty, filthy, smutty, or crude, speech.  Some may not do it openly, but they do it nevertheless.  Too many have dead faith.  What is a dead faith you ask?  James 2:17 (NLT) says, “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”  What good deeds you ask?  Not complaining or murmuring about things (Philippians 2:14; Jude 1:14-16), giving cheerfully to the Lord’s causes, 2 Corinthians 9:7-9 (NLT) “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” ⁸ And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. ⁹ As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor.  Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”  Patience, endurance, growing, bearing fruit, faith (Romans 4:1,2), love, etc. are also part of our good deeds.   James 2:21-25 (NLT) puts it this way, “Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. ²³ And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. ²⁴ So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.” ²⁵ Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.”  Basically, good works are anything that the Lord wants us to do collectively or individually that is only accomplished by relying on Him and His power, not on our past natural education, training, or expertise.   James 2:18 (NLT) sums it up by saying, “Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”  We can conclude then that it is not what say we believe as Christians, it is based upon what we do with what we believe that is Kingdom of God related.   

Then some people will say that they are Christians because they believe in God through Jesus Christ.  But this is not enough.  Why?  Because it says in James 2:19 (NLT) “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”

Even Satan himself and his demons believe in one God.  But they are not obeying Him and they certainly will not be saved.  We don’t want to be people whom God says are ones who did whatever was right in their own eyes, Judges 17:6 or Judges 21:25.  No, we want to be people who as James 4:6-8, 10 (NLT) describes, “…God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” ⁷ So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor.”  We want to humble ourselves before God, resist the devil, come close to God, stay pure, and be focused on heavenly things.  Colossians 3:2 (NLT) says, “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.”