You of Great Faith
Notes
Transcript
5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”
7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.
Sermon Series: Faith According to Jesus
In His earthly ministry, Jesus was impressed with only two people because of their great faith: The Roman Centurion and a Canaanite woman in Matthew 15.
21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Similarities in the Stories:
The pleaders were not from Israel.
In both miracles, the Lord healed from a distance.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
2. The pleaders exhibited humility.
“Lord I am not worthy that You should come under my roof”.
He was a Gentile, a Jew who would come to his house would be rendered unclean.
Notice the readiness of Jesus: “I will come and heal him.”
self-abasement. we are made more humble because of the grace of Jesus in our lives… the more we are made aware of our need of Him --- I need Thee every hour most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think;
The less confidence we place on ourselves, the greater our dependence on the Lord Jesus.
If I can send my soldiers or my slave to execute my orders, how much more canst thou send thy ministering spirits to do thy bidding?”
This was before the cross..
3. The pleaders pleaded Jesus on behalf of others.
When we do not only pray for ourselves..
There is power in intercessory prayer.
Pray for the salvation of a loved one.
Action Items:
Ask Jesus on the basis of His Word.
The centurion cited examples why he believed that Jesus’ Word is enough to heal his servant. He believed that Jesus had the authority.
We can also make declarations why we believe Jesus is able to heal.
He is able to heal (His Power)
He desires to heal (His Providence)
natural causes
Deists
He cares
He is intimately acquainted with all our ways
He is available to Heal (His Presence)
He wants to move on your behalf
He is willing - example from the Gospels
He is loving and compassionate
When we ask the Lord Jesus on the basis of His word, we ask according to His will.
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
“According to His will”
Action Items:
2. Ask in Humility before the Lord.
Jesus marveled at the man’s faith — why? Because this is the kind of faith that He was hoping to find in Israel.
It is FAITH such as this that made entrance to God’s Kingdom possible, regardless of ethnicity, race, geographical location and religious background.
True faith means we come to the Lord just as we are —
What is the basis of your coming to the Lord today? Is it your goodness, religious upbringing?
Faith in faith.
Action Items:
3. Ask on Behalf of Others.
Exercise your faith on behalf of others. How much do we.. what percentage of our prayers..
Pray for the Compassion of Jesus.
Not our wishes for people but God’s.
Epilepsy, Demon possession - Delivery from addictions, drugs, alcohol..
The enemy came to steal, to kill and to destroy --
“I was just getting out of a bind”, A cry for help — but He takes you farther than you can ever ask of Him -- He stands you up before the world — Being a trophy
Being “worthy” — the Roman soldier
“Repent and turn to God and do deeds worthy of repentance.” (Acts 26:20)
Not deserving
Ascribing the greatest value to God — we derive from God’s infinite worthiness.