Centurion-Like Faith
Sometimes we do not have faith in God like we should.
Mat 8:5-13
God honors the level of faith displayed.
A Little Faith goes a long way, but a Lot of Faith goes even further.
God honors the level of faith displayed.
The centurian is a strong, capable, smart, man with ability. He knew Jesus could do something that he could not do for his paralyzed servant…
We need Centurion-Like Faith in Jesus.
Faith is Rewarding.
The cause for the commendation. “Faith.” It is faith in the word of God that excited Christ. The writer of Hebrews said, “Without faith, it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). But with faith, you can indeed please God.
It is not the arithmetic of our prayers, how many they are: nor the rhetoric of our prayers, how eloquent they are; nor the geometry of our prayers, how long they be; nor the music of our prayers, how sweet our voice may be; nor the logic of our prayers, how argumentative they may be; nor the method of our prayers, how orderly they may be—which God cares for. Fervency of spirit is that which availeth much.
“John Wesley spent two hours daily in prayer, and commonly said that ‘God does nothing but in answer to prayer.’ Martin Luther said, ‘If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.’
Faith is Resting.
A brave cavalry officer was dying of his wounds. He thought himself on the field, at the head of his gallant men, and fancied that a heavy gun was just in front of them, ready to be fired. His distress was great. At length he thought the gun had been fired, and his men, badly cut up, were retreating. Here I interposed, saying, “There is no gun there: you are safe among friends.”—“Let me alone!” he sternly replied. “I must recover my command, and renew the attack.”—“No,” said I; “let us not talk of battle-scenes. You are soon to die. Let us talk of Jesus.” The mention of that name seemed to exert the powerful influence I had often heard ascribed to it. His agitation ceased at once; his delirium passed away; a smile lit up his pallid features. After a moment’s silence, he said in a low voice, “Jesus, Jesus! It is he who said, ‘Come unto me all ye that that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.’ I want rest: I am weary.” Soon after, he entered the glorious rest of heaven.
Faith is Relational.
The saying emphasizes in very strong terms that the kingdom of heaven is not a Jewish preserve, but is open to Gentiles like this centurion, and further that Jews will in fact find themselves excluded. Thus faith, not race, is the criterion for membership of God’s kingdom.
We need Centurion-Like Faith in Jesus.
Faith is not the way around pain, it is the way through pain. Faith doesn’t get rid of the opposition, it invites it over for dinner. Faith doesn’t give you the winning point at the last second, it ties the game and sends you into overtime. Faith doesn’t give you the solution, it forces you to find it. Faith doesn’t teach you at the moment, it teaches in retrospect. Faith doesn’t provide a net to fall into when your fingers are about to give way as you hang suspended over the cliff, faith gives your fingers the strength to hang on just a little longer.