Surprising Faith

Text: Luke 7:1-10

Focus: Faith

Function: To help people have faith

Form: Story-telling

Intro: I always found verse 9 of this passage to be a blessing. At first, I wondered if Jesus was God and new everything, then how could He have been surprised?

But the author isn’t trying to argue any point, he isn’t worried that someone will parse every word to catch an inconsistency. No, the author is relaying to us, the wonder of the moment and the amazement that Jesus feels when someone reacts to God with faith and trust.

This man, this centurion, was a man of power and authority. He understood how things worked and it appears that his spiritual understanding is impressive. But it is based on the fact that he is used to being heard.

But he does not seem to be arrogant. He isn’t begging Jesus off from a visit because he does not want to bother with entertaining him, he simply believes in Jesus and his statement, “I am not worthy for you to enter my house” seems to come from a genuine and sincere heart.

I am not going to preach a sermon on how faith works so that you have all the conditions right so that you can get your own miracle. That isn’t how it works.

I believe that I have seen miracles happen. But they beg the question as to whether or not God has favorites because some get a yes and others do not when they pray.

There is no magic formula, God is God. And, God is love. That, I believe, is faith.

It is important to note this: The centurion was full of love. That does not mean that those who have died prematurely are not full of love themselves. Others, full of love have died.

But the scripture takes time to note this other thing about the Centurion. Apparently, Jewish people knew that Jesus spent His time with the Jewish people and so they are the ones who made this introduction of the Centurion to Jesus because they too, were impressed with the way that this man loved both God and other people.

Again, this does not mean that others who have struggled are not loving.

This centurion, full of love and authority, who had servants to do whatever he needed, took the time to stop and care for a servant. His attitude about even his own, probably a slave, was one of care and compassion.

His faith led him to treat others differently. The Roman society was highly stratified with elites, nobility, aristocrats, and then commoners and then slaves.

Slaves were possessions, But this man cared. In order to “fit in” to the culture as an upper class person, one had to believe that these people were less human, less worthwhile than others.

Jesus sees the dignity and worth of every person.

This man, this aristocrat, defied his heritage, and by faith, trusted God to love even the least of these.

Well, that isn’t any different than all of us since Jesus informs our hearts by the power of His Holy Spirit (tap heart).

The man loved God and the man loved others. The description of him is also the description that Jesus gives about who His followers are.

And the man has faith.

What is faith?

Faith is not cognitive dissonance where we believe in the impossible and improbable.

Faith is trust.

The man comes to Jesus in simple humility with this request for another person, but also because he loves this person, because he depends on this person to serve him, his request is for himself.

When I pray for my kids, I pray my love for them and although the prayer is focused on them, I know that their comfort is a greater concern for me than it is for others.

The man, full of love for God and others, asks God for a miracle on behalf of another, but it is also for himself.

And for some reason, this miracle happens.

Faith is rest and trust.

I believe that great faith is to trust regardless of whether or not the outcome is the way we asked for it.

And again, that is not just an excuse when our prayers are not answered the way we pray them.

Trust in God is rest in God’s plan and power. (repeat)

Every person is a child of God.

But some walk with God.

Remember, Micah 6:8: He has shown us what is good and what the Lord requires of us, to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.

Walking in faith is part of walking humbly with God. Walking in trust is part of walking humbly with God.

Faith is praying, making our requests known to God and then actually trusting God for the outcome.

Faith is born out of our relationship with God.

Because the man took time to build his relationship with God, he lived with a sense of trust in the love, protection, purpose and power of God in his life.

And for some reason, I need to share this story with you about a man named Alan.

Alan was the nephew of a member of my church and was driving home from work when a cement truck crossed the center line, hit and crushed his car.

To make things worse, a piece of re-bar, rusty metal spike went right through his brain.

At the hospital, right before pulling the plug, the family and I prayed that God would give him another chance.

And for some reason, he immediately began a recovery to the point where 6 months later, he was back at work.

I visited with him and he asked me if a miracle happened. I believed it did and so did he.

I asked him if he trusted in Jesus and he invited me to leave.

I was probably a little pushy, but something bigger than me was happening.

But I must not have offended him to much because a 6 months later he asked me to officiate his wedding.

Then, Alan got cancer and again, a year or so later, on his death bed, his mother, his wife and I prayed that God would give him another chance.

A year later his aunt asked me to visit him. He was in remission, pronounced cancer free and again looking with hope for a new lease on life.

And again, I asked him if he wanted to enter in to this relationship with this God whom he acknowledges has been especially good to him.

And again, I am invited to leave the house. Odd. But, I guess I was to pushy.

And you probably guessed it, the cancer comes back and this time, it is not going away.

I am beginning to think that maybe I should not invite him into a relationship with Jesus.

And again, his aunt begs me to visit him.

The human body is amazing. God’s power is amazing. He defied medical prognosis once before but I am wondering what is exactly going on.

Why, if he was healed, was he sick again?

Certainly God does not act that way in vengeance if a person refuses God, does God?

That isn’t love in my book.

No, I don’t really know what has happening.

I know that both times he recovered, it began moments after we all prayed together for him.

And I don’t want to threaten anyone in any way.

But I did see this with him. When he died, he died with Jesus, singing Amazing Grace, right after we baptized him on his death bed.

Look, I don’t know why this all happens the way it does, but I do believe this, God is in control in some way or another.

It wasn’t the miracles, or perhaps miracles that happened that built my faith in this story. No, it was the way he died, in peace, with God, in hope, in faith and in trust that proves to me my own faith.