Latest revision as of 18:20, 20 April 2022

Theological Proposition/Focus: God is gracious to all people who trust in him and his grace is not dependent on any social status, family origin, or other rank.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: No matter who you are God is gracious, don't be content to just affirm your faith in God. Take Action based on that faith!

Introduction:

Image: Real Faith verse other things

We live in a world that uses the term faith a lot. But I am not convinced that our world knows what faith is. Many people think faith is a strong belief or something like unfounded optimism. A lot of people think that faith is simply positive thinking.

We say things like, just have faith. People who have no interest or relationship with God talk about it all working out okay. This is not faith! I am convinced that we need to develop our faith. We need to be a church that exercises real faith. Let me be a little more direct, I am convinced that God is testing our faith right now and preparing us for a big test of faith. God wants us to come forth as Gold. He wants us to develop real faith.

Need: We need to be a church of real faith

Subject: Faith

Preview: In Luke 7:1-10 we are going to see that Real Faith is used when our backs are against a wall, real faith involves a step of action, real faith emphasizes Christ, and real faith yields real answers.

Let's begin by looking at the text of.

Text: Luke 7:1-10.

When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well. ^[1]

Setting the Stage:

Gentile Audience

We have talked about the book of Luke already. The book of Luke seems to have been written for a Gentile audience and presents a historical account of Jesus. Luke is careful in his writing and appears to have included very carefully chosen important details. In chapters 4-9, Luke outlines the ministry of Jesus in Galilee and chapter 7 appears to be about establishing the authority of Jesus. Verse 1 begins with the statement "to the people who were listening" Luke carefully recorded events from eyewitness accounts.

Previous Chapters - Jesus is special among Jews

In chapters 1-6 Luke clearly shows that Jesus is unique among the Jews. His birth is special. His childhood is special. His ministry is special. We are left with a question, is this Jesus just someone for the Jews or is he someone for all people. In chapter 7 Luke definitively shows that Jesus is for all people and he does so by showing that even a gentile can have great faith, Real Faith.

Body

In verses 1-2 we see that "When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die."

In this part of Jesus' ministry, he set up camp in Capernaum which was a City of Galilee, which is only mentioned in the Gospels. The city was a sort of favorite of Jesus and in a sense almost an adopted hometown. The city was on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee (or Lake of Gennesaret). This passage marks a sort of transition for Jesus in his ministry and marks the first encounter that Jesus has with a gentile. Remember, the Jews and Gentiles were distinct from each other. Luke has shown that Jesus is a very different person now we will be able to see how this Jesus interacts with a Gentile. ^[2] The events that occur in Capernaum will show us that

Real Faith is needed when your back is against the wall. (1-2)

No amount of preparation, power, or authority can guarantee our well-being.

The first thing key I see in the verses is that No amount of preparation, power, or authority can guarantee our well-being. A Roman Centurion was a military commander in charge of 100 soldiers. That is, this was someone of significance. As a Centurion this man would have had power and the ability to plan things out. However, no amount of power or planning could ensure the health and well-being of all he owned.

Centurion->100 people

The entire situation is striking. Slaves were disposable, but not to this man. This man valued his workers and in this case valued the slave enough to act.

Slaves are disposable

It is further striking that the act of faith we are looking at here is faith not by a Jew but by a Roman Centurion. God is honoring the faith of a man not a Jew but a Roman commander.

Centurion is not a Jew

The Centurion was described as worthy

Later in the passage, we see that not only is this a powerful and influential man, but he is what might be described as a good man. The text tells us that the Jews, who otherwise hated the Romans, call this man worthy. In fact, this man had built a synagogue for the Jews. This centurion was described as one who loved the Jews.

So given all we have seen of this man, his leadership position, power, influence, and the fact that he appears to have been what might consider a "good" man, we might expect that nothing bad would happen to this man. However, that is not the case. This man, despite his strength, power, and reputation experienced significant hardship.

Image: The phrase Death and Taxes are the only sure thing (Ben Franklin-constitution)

After the completion of the constitution Benjamin Franklin famously noted that while he believed the constitution was a durable document that would last, the only thing that was certain in the world was "death and taxes." We live in a world where things can change overnight. In March of 2020, my mom took a short trip to Germany. When my mom left there was talk about a virus spreading in China. Two weeks later my mom's plane landed just before all international air traffic was put on hold. My uncle picked up my mom at the airport, dropped her off, and handed her a package of toilet paper and some cleaning materials. My mom called me and asked, "what exactly is going on?" Well, I told her, I didn't want to worry you while you were traveling, but the world has changed almost overnight.

Very little in this world is a sure-thing.

I don't believe any of you are military commanders with an entire unit at your command, but that doesn't mean that this doesn't apply to you. We live in a world where things change. What you have today may be there tomorrow it may not. Each of us lives in a world where we may be called to show real faith at any point.

MTR: Prepare your heart to use Real Faith.

James 1:2-4 states

James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

So how should we then act? Today I want to challenge you to prepare your heart for Real Faith. Even if life is good right now, take time to pray and ask God to give you faith. Practice faith in little things. Exercise your faith so that when life happens your first response is to act in faith instead of anything else.

Let's continue, the next key I see in this story is that

Real Faith involves steps of action. (3-5)

General optimism is not faith.

Real faith does not come by just holding a view that everything will work out. That is called general optimism and frankly, things can go horribly wrong for people. Real faith rather comes from knowlege of God. Notice that the Centurion heard of Jesus. When we talk about faith we must first recognize that our faith must be based on our knowledge of God. We worship the God of the Bible, the creator. We worship a God we know not some arbitrary deity. As we get to know God more, we will grow in our faith.

Faith involves knowledge, assent, and confidence

1 John 2:12-14 (stages of maturity, growth comes in part from knowing God)

Notice what John writes in 1 John 2:12-14.

12 I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

14 I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. ^[3]

We are going to see that real faith involves a step of action. However, the key to that action is knowledge of God himself. If you are going to go to Jesus you must know who he is!

Going to Jesus is critical.

In this section, I also see that real faith involves actually going to Jesus. I want you to understand the significance of this. Real faith is not just hoping that things work out. Real faith involves going to Jesus.

Parallel Account in Matthew 8:5-13

The parallel account in Matthew 8:5-13 makes it sound as if the Centurion himself went to see Jesus, but here is Luke we see it was some elders sent from the Centurion. It seems likely that the Centurion, being a man of influence, and recognizing that he was a gentile sent people to speak on his behalf so when Matthew records it as if the Centurion himself is speaking we can recognize that the elders were acting for the Centurion. The Centurion had taken action.

MTR: Make specific requests, look for specific answers.

So, what should you do? The answer is pretty simple. Practice going to Jesus now, and make specific requests. I mean it, go to Jesus and talk with him. Tell him about the small things in life, tell him about the big things in life. Tell him your desires, ask him to mold you. Remember, real faith is like a muscle we build up. If we are to use that muscle we must exercise it. exercise the muscle by going to Jesus now.

Real Faith emphasizes Christ, not just an outcome. (6-8)

In many ways, the miracle itself is just an afterthought. You see real faith emphasizes Jesus. Yes, we ask and act in faith but we trust in Jesus. We ask expecting Jesus to say yes but we are completely content if Jesus says no. We step out in faith knowing that no matter how it plays out Jesus is in control. I see three important items in this section.

The emphasis of Jesus' worth

First I see the emphasis on Jesus' worth. The Centurion states that he is unworthy of Jesus. Notice the comparison here. The Jewish leaders had declared the centurion to be worthy, but the centurion himself said he was unworthy. The centurion understood the worth of Jesus.

The emphasis of Jesus' word

Second, I see an emphasis on the word of Jesus. "just say the word." This is especially significant for some scholars who note that in antiquity miraculous healings were thought to only be possible with direct contact. In other words, this is a bold declaration from the centurion.

The de-emphasis of the need

Notice that the actual need seems to be treated as a minor issue. The focus here is on the power and authority of Jesus. We must realize that at this time Rome's power was absolute. For a Roman centurion to recognize that his power had limitations that Jesus did not face is an amazing statement. The focus here is on Jesus.

MTR: Bring your petitions, emphasize Christ

What does this mean for us? We should emphasize Christ in our petitions. We can certainly petition but remember, we step out trusting Christ, not trusting an answer! Did you catch that, we trust Christ not the result. Don't ever get caught in the trap of exchanging the worship of a result for the worship of Christ!

Image: Christ in the Garden Mark 14:35-36

In the Garden Christ prayed

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” ^[4]

The request was specific but even in his request Christ emphasized the will of the Father.

Real Faith yields real answers. (9-10)

Jesus delights in Real Faith

I want you to notice the significance of what Jesus states, he shows delight. Remember the previous point, real faith is about Jesus. Now I certainly hope that Jesus gives me a positive answer but it is so much better if Jesus delights in how I respond. Wow!

Jesus blesses Real Faith

In this case, the answer to the real faith was exactly what we would hope for, complete healing.

MTR: Act in Real Faith, anticipate real answers

Image: As in 2 Cor. 12:9 the results may turn out to be God's strength.

Conclusion

Merit vs Grace

The Jews said he was worthy, the centurion said he was unworthy. Our hope is not based on our worthiness, it is based entirely on Christ. Let us place our faith in Christ. Real faith requires

Circumstances

Action

Christ

and Yields Results

1. ↑ The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Lk 7:1–10.
2. ↑ Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Capernaum,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 415.
3. ↑ The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 1 Jn 2:12–14.
4. ↑ The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mk 14:35–36.