This Kind of Faith

Matthew 8:5–10

5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,

6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.

7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.

8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.

9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Introduction

In this passage, the Bible speaks of a certain centurion, a powerful roman soldier who was living in Israel during the time of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This man has a servant who was sick of the palsy.

And so, he comes to the Lord, and asks him to heal his servant.

The Lord was accustomed to this and would usually grant these requests to heal.

And so, Jesus responds to his request that He would come and heal the man.

But He is taken back with the centurion’s response…8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.

The Bible says that Jesus marveled (wonder, be astonished, to admire or have in admiration) at the response…

I want you to think about this…Jesus, the Creator of the Universe…marveled at something.

Many times, you will find man marveling at God but only twice in the Bible will you find God marveling at man…the only other time is in response to unbelief. (Mark 6:6)

Jesus, the Creator, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords marveled at this man’s response.

And then He turns to all the Jews around him and says this…10 I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Now consider what Jesus is saying…THIS GENTILE SOLDIER (despised by the Jews, considered dogs by the Jews) has more faith than anyone in the entire nation of Israel!

What a statement…what a thing to say

Why would Jesus say this? What was so special about this man’s faith that was so much better than the faith of everyone else.

I believe to understand the answer to the question we should look at the kind of faith that Jesus was used to...

The faith of Martha…

You know the story, this is the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

John 11:20–45

20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

Here we have a very direct, uncomplicated explanation of what Jesus is about to do…He just tells her exactly what He is about to do.

but look at her response…

24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

Application: It’s easier to have faith in something like the resurrection than it is in a miracle in your present life right now.

Jesus was not speaking about the resurrection at the last day, He was speaking about today.

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life

Let’s keep reading…

34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! 37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?

Many times when Jesus was go to perform a miracle, He not only found unbelief, He would find people laughing at him and even mocking Him.

Example: Young girl of whom He said was sleeping…Matthew 9:24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.

Let’s keep reading…

38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

Remember, Jesus had already told her, that He is going to raise him from the dead…

Now He is telling her, to do something, to take a physical action toward the work that Jesus wants to do…move the stone.

But she doesn’t want to…because if God doesn’t come through…there will be a negative consequence…there is risk involved with moving the stone.

Everyone would ask, why are you dishonoring this man's grave? Why are you moving the stone so all can smell his corpse? It would have caused a big problem in her life.

And because of her refusal Jesus rebukes her lack of faith.

40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

Finally, they move the stone…

41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

Jesus performs the miracle…he raises the man from the dead…and then finally, what happened?

45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

They saw the miracle, and then they believed.

It’s pretty hard to deny the Lord Jesus when your dead friend is walking around again…although some managed to do it.

This story really exemplifies the kind of faith that the Lord would find when He went about His earthly ministry.

People wouldn't believe Him, often the would even mock. Then He would perform the miracle, people would see the miracle, and then they would believe.

Two types of faith

The question we are trying to answer is what is the difference between the type of faiths we have seen in these two passages?

The answer is very simple…

Martha and almost everyone that Jesus ever encountered believed AFTER he saw God perform the miracle.

The Centurion believed BEFORE he saw God perform the miracle.

AND JESUS MARVELED at the faith of the centurion…and healed his servant without ever stepping foot in his house.

This is what faith IS

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

And so in this message, I want to ask the simple question…

Which type of faith do you have?

2020 is a year that is testing and trying our faith.

This topic is so relevant to us right now as we navigate these hurdles and difficulties, are we living our lives by faith?

With this in mind I want to quickly give you three simple principles regarding faith…

Principle #1 Faith involves risk

Martha and the others did not want to move the stone…because it was a risk.

It was a risk for the centurion to ask Jesus to not come to his house.

Faith and Risk always go together

As Christians we are to do all things by faith...we are to live daily in faithful obedience.

Yet there will be many times in our lives that God will try our faith with situations that require a risk. To see how much we trust God.

The Christian or the church that never risks anything…will never see God work

Example: The risk of setting out on deputation

-quitting our jobs

-selling our home

-selling our cars

-motorhome woes

-Lydia being 3 weeks old

-fiberglass on motorhome coming apart

-dumping our sewage in the church parking lot

But even though God allows our faith to be tested He provides for us when we put our trust in Him in obedience to His Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Without testing, our faith does not grow. But when we allow God to test our faith, and respond in faith to that testing, our faith will grow.

Example: Why many do not tithe or give to missions…because they don’t want to take the risk that faith requires…and hence will miss out on the blessing of the miracle God has for them.

Example: The underground children's church

If you are trying to live your Christian life in such a way that you never have to take a risk and trust God you are probably not living your life by faith.

Often we only want to follow God until His commands lead us to a place we no longer have control. Then we won't follow any further.

Principle #2 Unbelief hinders God’s work

Matthew 13:58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Jesus chose not to work…because of unbelief

In reading the Bible, there are few things that frustrate God like unbelief.

Many times, God would promise to deliver, and someone would talk about how impossible it was, and so God would say ok, I’m still going to deliver my people, but you’re not going to partake in it.

Example: Israel and entering into the promised land

The same is true today…

A) Your unbelief will destroy your own spiritual life

So many Christians are stuck in baby levels of spiritual maturity because they refuse to take steps of faith.

They only will do what is in their control and comfort zone.

Many sit in churches stagnant, year after year…because they refuse to step out in faith and do something for Him.

And they are the ones who are losing out on what God wants to do in their life, because of their unbelief.

B) Your unbelief will destroy your church

Example: Whenever the Pastor wants to start a new ministry or outreach, he has to step out on faith, but sadly, he also has to fight the unbelief of many in the congregation

THE MURMURERS…THE “this will never work” people.

And very often...God doesn’t work…because of our unbelief.

Example: The ten spies that opposed Moses did so because of unbelief and they influenced and brought judgement upon the entire nation.

Many are opposing God in their church because they are opposing the vision of God’s man. (in what is not a direct violation of the scriptures, get behind the vision of your Pastor…Believe

Principle #3 You cannot please God without faith

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The only life that can please God is the life lived in faith.

God is not pleased with the life that refuses to trust Him.

I want you to see two things in this verse…

A) You must believe that He is

How big is God?

It can’t be measured…there are no limits to what He is capable of doing

-He still saves

-He still does His work

-The good old days are not in the past they are ahead of us

-He is able!

Example: God has not had to break a sweat to take care of us in Colombia. God is not breaking a sweat taking care of any of us now.

2020

Right now many of us might have an anxious troubled spirit for some of the things that are going on in the world...that sick feeling in your gut might be a sign that you need to remember who God is. God is not the least bit troubled by 2020 American politics. We should pray, we should take a stand, we should do everything we can to preserve our liberties...but we should not forget who is on the throne and we should not be worried about it where we are troubled!

1 Peter 5:7

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Philippians 4:6-7

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 4:16

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

He is folks...He is God.

Jeremiah 32:17

Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:

If you want to please God, you must believe that He is...remember who our God is, and rest in His might,

Example: My 3 year old son trusts me to take care of him 100%.

God says that we must have the faith of a little child.

B) You must believe that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

There is no greater life, no life more worth living than the life lived by faith.

Friend, God’s way is not without its trials and difficulties…but it is the greatest thing ever to live in His will.

The greatest thing you can do is find out what God wants for your life and do it!

There is no greater life than the life spent serving the Lord.

Example: How I used to be afraid of being a missionary, the Chief getting saved in the Amazon…being a missionary is the greatest job in the world.

Friend, He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him,

Example: Asking Mark Rogers the greatest piece of advice…

*YOU CAN TRUST HIM

Conclusion:

Two types of faith…which one do you have tonight…maybe you need to swap out one for the other.

*Maybe you need to repent of a lack of faith

*Maybe your unbelief, has been destroying your own spiritual life, hurting your church, discouraging your Pastor…get it right tonight

*Because you will never be able to truly walk with God until you walk by faith.

Invitation