What a Faith

(Luke 7:6-9)

INTRODUCTION:
A certain roman centurion who has about a hundred men of soldiers
under his command is seeking a person named Jesus Christ of
Nazareth. Although, this centurion is a gentile, but he regarded the
Jewish religion superior to other religions in the entire Roman Empire.
The setting of the story was in Capernaum. Capernaum is an ancient
fishing village on the north shore of the sea of Galilee.

BODY
I. The Centurion realized that he is not worthy (v. 7)
A. To come to Jesus (v. 7)
a. He asked some elders
b. He asked some friends
c. “But he felt unworthy to come into the presence of
Jesus…” D.A. p. 174

B. To be visited by Jesus (v. 6)

a. He saw his unworthiness
b. He realized that he is far away from Jesus spiritually

C. Illustration: The Doctor, Lawyer, and the Little Boy.

A doctor, a lawyer, a little boy and an old wise man were

out for a Sunday afternoon flight on a small private plane.
Suddenly, the plane developed engine trouble. In spite of
the best efforts of the pilot, the plane started to go down.
Finally, the pilot grabbed a parachute and yelled to the
passengers that they better jump, and he himself bailed
out.

Unfortunately, there were only three parachutes

remaining. The doctor grabbed one and said “I’m a doctor,
I save lives, so I must live,” and jumped out. The lawyer
then said, “I’m a lawyer and lawyers are the smartest
people in the world. I deserve to live.” He also grabbed a
parachute and jumped.

The old wise man looked at the little boy and said, “My
son, I’ve lived a long and full life. You are young and have
your whole life ahead of you. Take the last parachute and
live in peace.”
 The little boy handed the parachute back to the old wise
man and said, “Not to worry, Grandpa. The smartest man
in the world just took off with my backpack.”

D. Application:
Have we realized our own unworthiness? How many times
we compare ourselves with others? How many times that
we think that we are better than others? When was the
last time that we think the good of others than ourselves?

II. The Centurion recognized Jesus is able to heal (v. 8)

A. Based on what he heard (v. 3)
a. From the reports
b. From the news

B. Based on what he believed (v. 7a)

a. Just a word from Jesus only (v. 7b)
b. That his servant would be healed

C. Application:
Sometimes, we think that only other people need of
healing. Oftentimes, we forget that we too need healing
from our own spiritual sickness. The Good news is that
Jesus is the answer to our sickness and disbelief. All He
wants us to do is to surrender our lives, our will, and our
desires to him. He wants us to turn away from evil habits.
He is willing to give us the power to overcome temptation
and sin. However, some of us want to give our lives to God
but are not willing to let go the things of the world.

D. Illustration: Shall we gather at the river.

Reverend Clive Morgan was completing his homily in St

John's Church about the dangers of alcohol and the need
for moderation and temperance.

He announced at the end of the sermon in a loud, clear

voice, 'If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and
throw it into the river.'  With even greater emphasis he
added, 'And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd take it
and throw it into the river.'  Finally, he intoned in an
extremely serious manner, 'And if I had all the whiskey in
the world, I'd take it and throw it into the river.'
 The Reverend Morgan then sat down. Jerry, St John's
leading chorister stood up and announced with a smile,
'For our closing hymn this Sunday, let us sing together
hymn number 109: 'Shall We Gather at the River.'

III. The Centurion’s remarkable faith.

A. Faith that amazed Jesus (v. 9a)

a. Definition of Faith
i. Faith is the opposite of doubt.
ii. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and
certain of what we do not see. (Heb. 11:1)

b. Quotation: “Faith without works is like a bird without

wings, though she may hop with her companions on
earth, yet she will never fly with them to heaven.”
(Francis Beaumont)

B. Faith that no one can compare (v. 9b)

a. Even in Israel
b. Even the Jewish elders were awaken how far they are
(D.A. p. 175)
c. “Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward
of faith is to see what we believe.” (St. Augustine)

C. Application
a. What about us, could Jesus see faith in us?
b. Could Jesus see faith in his people?
c. Could Jesus see faith in the church?

D. Illustration: The mountain climber’s story

The story tells about a mountain climber, who wanted to

climb the highest mountain. He began his adventure after
many years of preparation, but since he wanted the glory
just for himself, he decided to climb the mountain alone.

He started to climb but it begun to get very late, and

instead of preparing his tent to camp, he kept climbing
until it got very dark.
The night felt heavy in the heights of the mountain, and
the man could not see anything. All was black. Zero
visibility, and the moon and the stars were covered by the
clouds.
 As he was climbing, only a few feet away from the top of
the mountain, he slipped and fell into the air, falling at a
great speed. The climber could only see black spots as he
went down, and the terrible sensation of being sucked by
gravity. He kept falling… and in those moments of great
fear, it came to his mind all the good and bad episodes of
his life.

He was thinking now about how close death was getting,

when all of a sudden he felt the rope tied to his waist pull
him very hard.

His body was hanging in the air.. Only the rope was
holding him, and in that moment of stillness he had no
other choice but to scream: HELP ME GOD!!

All of a sudden, a deep voice coming from the sky

answered:
- What do you want me to do?
- Save me God!!

- Do you really think I can save you?

- Of course I believe You can

- THEN CUT THE ROPE TIED TO YOUR WAIST….

There was a moment of silence; and the man decided to

hold on to the rope with all his strength.

The rescue team tells, that the next day a climber was
found dead and frozen…his body hanging from a rope. His
hands holding tight to it… ONLY 10 FEET AWAY FROM THE
GROUND…

CONCLUSION

Brethren, if Jesus can use the faith of the unbeliever person like the
centurion. How about us? This is the challenge to all of us. We must be
a good example of faith to others by exercising righteousness by faith
because “Faith is the victory.”