♪ And we are raised here in death's
low place ♪ ♪ To stray from God's great love for us all ♪ Seeking once again the help of
the Lord, I would like us to turn together to the chapter
that we read in the Gospel according to Luke chapter 7 and the text
you'll find in verse 7. Wherefore neither thought I myself
worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word and my servant
shall be healed. We come to the next miracle of
the Lord Jesus Christ and with all of the different miracles
that he does there are those distinct features of those miracles
as we saw last week as he dealt with the the leprous man and
the man says if thou wilt if you will you can make me clean
and Jesus says I will be thou clean and we see how him as a
leprous person being unclean unable to worship God, unable
to enter into the temple, isolated from God, isolated from society
and yet we find the Lord Jesus Christ filled with compassion. We find him touching this leprous
man and Christ not being defiled by that touch and yet the man
being healed and cleansed by that touch. and we see how he
was restored. We saw how he should have gone
to the temple to offer up those things which were right according
to the ceremonial law but instead he went and published all that
Christ had done for him instead of going to the priests. But
here we have now a centurion. So we add the leper and now a
centurion. The centurion was a Roman. He was a Gentile. He was a man
in the military having authority over about 100 or so soldiers. He confesses to Jesus that he
is also under authority. So not only does he have authority
he is also under authority. He's able to say to one soldier
do this and do that. He's able to command one to do
this and to do that but he is also himself under the authority
of another being dictated to as to what he should do and he
comes to the Lord Jesus Christ with a concern. not only does
he come he sends people to the Lord Jesus. The same account
is recorded in in Matthew from verse 5 and here it says that
or it's written in the way that the man approaches the Lord Jesus
Christ himself. In Matthew 8 from verse 5, And
when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion
beseeching him and saying, Lord, my servant lies at home sick
of the palsy, grievously tormented. There's not an error in the Bible. Matthew is writing to Jews and
to a Jew if someone sent a messenger then that was as though that
person was going themselves and we see that with the apostles.
The apostles are the sent ones of the Lord Jesus Christ. They
are sent with his authority, his power, and it was as though
Christ was moving out across the world, proclaiming the gospel. They were sent with that authority,
the authority of Christ. And so to a Jew, a messenger
was as though the one sending the message was entering their
presence, was speaking through. that messenger and so as Matthew
writes to the Jews he says as though the centurion had himself
come to the Lord Jesus Christ but we see in Luke that first
of all he sends the Jews, the elders of the Jews to the Lord
Jesus. In chapter 7 what we have read
it says when all And a certain centurion's servant who was dear
unto him was sick and ready to die. And when he had heard of
Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that
he would come and heal his servant. when they came to Jesus they
besought him instantly saying that he was worthy for whom he
should do this and so he not feeling able to come to the Lord
Jesus Christ himself sends others on his behalf and we see later
as Jesus begins to make his way to the house of this man he sends
further people to the Lord Jesus Christ to clarify the reasons
why he would not come to the Lord Jesus. He did not want the
Lord Jesus Christ to come into his house, he did not feel worthy
of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, he did not want to be near the Lord Jesus because
he thought himself not worthy. But he knew who Jesus Christ
was. He knew that Christ had the authority
to say the word and his servant would be healed. As a Roman,
It was very unusual really for the Jews to have such dealings
with him. We see something of the niceness
of his character. He was a man who loved the Jews
and the Jews seemed to love him. He had built them a synagogue
and he loved the Jewish people yet he was a Gentile. We know
that the Jews and the Gentiles were not to mix together. If
a Gentile was to mix with a Jew, then the Jew would become unclean. They weren't allowed to eat together.
We see that problem that arose when the church advance in the
Book of Acts and we see Peter isolating himself from the Gentile
converts and fixing himself with the Jews and the Apostle Paul
becoming very annoyed with the Apostle Peter. And so we see
that there is that separation. There is that distinction between
Jew and Gentile. As a Roman, a Roman citizen,
would have had many gods. The Romans were known for their
idol worship, their charms that they would take. If you read
about Hadrian's wall you find that isolated along that wall
are places and of shrines with engravings to Roman gods. And
so they would dedicate gods of war and they would offer up sacrifices
to these idols. And so this man being a Roman
was an idol worshipper. Did not believe in the one true
living God by birth. He grew up under a system of
idol worship. If you've ever read the story
of St Alban from St Alban's there in the Midlands, believed to
be one of the first Christian martyrs in England, he howls
day a old Christian who was fleeing
from the Romans. He stayed with him in his house
for some time and he was so touched by the piety of this man that
he was housing, how he prayed, how he watched out and his Christian
living that when the Romans heard that this old man was there at
his house, as the Roman soldiers came, he swapped clothes with
him. The old man, the old Christian
ran off out and St. Alban wore the clothes of this
man. He was arrested and taken to
the leader and they found out that he wasn't really the one
they were looking for. But they said, you will die,
but if you bow down and worship these gods, then you will live. He refused to bow down and worship
the gods of the Romans. So they took him away and they
executed him. And such how it was we see the
church history. how the hatred of a one true
God and his son the Lord Jesus Christ brought much persecution
to the early church, how they were seemingly forced to accept
Roman idol worship, yet when they denied that worship and
focused upon the one true living God, then their lives were cut
short. They were martyred, thrown to
lions, burnt at the stake. So this man was a Gentile, a
Roman citizen, a soldier. Yet he comes to the Lord Jesus
Christ. He hears of the Lord Jesus Christ
and he comes to him. If we look at the Old Testament
We see time and time again prophecies concerning the coming of this
one that would bring about a great gathering in of the Gentiles. Throughout the Old Testament
we don't read much of the Gentiles, only of the wars that took place
and the fighting that that the children of Israel went through
as they sought to overcome the promised land. One and another
Gentile is brought into that covenant relationship with God
as they enter into and they come into Israel. Think of Rahab the
harlot. How she heard all that God had
done to the people of Egypt and that she was filled with fear
and faith and how she saved the spies who came to Jericho and
how she was preserved and how she is brought into Israel and
brought into that line of Christ with the See of Ruth. Ruth the
Moabitess, another idol worshipper from a foreign land, a Gentile. unclean outside of the covenant
and yet brought in one by one. There was that great promise
that the one that would come would open the floodgates and
the opportunity for the great gathering in of the Gentiles. In Isaiah chapter 42 It starts there in verse one,
behold my servant. whom I uphold, mine elect, in
whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not
cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and a smoking flack shall he
not quench. He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth. Verse six, I, the Lord, have
called thee in righteousness. and I will hold thine hand and
will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the people
a light for the Gentiles. to open the blind eyes, to bring
out the prisoners from the prison and to them that sit in darkness
out of the prison house. I am the Lord, that is my name
and my glory will I not give to another, neither praises to
graven images. And so the promise is, the prophecy
is that there would be this light to the Gentiles. We read in the Gospel according
to John, and the light shineth in the darkness and the darkness
comprehended it not. And that all came about, didn't
it, with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. breaking down of
those barriers between Jew and Gentile, the breaking down of
the barriers between God and man, the doing away with the
sins of his people bringing about that reconciliation. So people
like this Gentile centurion who was outside of the covenant is
now able to approach a holy God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's able to come to the light of the world. the Lord Jesus
Christ and so that faith draws him to that light. He heard of Jesus. Multitudes heard of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Hundreds and thousands of people
followed the Lord Jesus Christ and so this is more than just
hearing. Many people today will hear of
the Lord Jesus Christ but it won't have any effect upon them. They won't move forward from
the broad road that leads to destruction. They will just stay
exactly where they are. They've heard of Jesus. They've
heard of the gospel but they don't know him. This man he hears of Jesus and
hearing of the Lord Jesus Christ he acts upon those things that
he hears. The Bible tells us that faith
comes by hearing in Romans 10 and from verse 16 it says they
have not all obeyed the gospel for Isaiah said Lord who hath
believed our report so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. It's God who gives somebody that
ability to hear the truth of the word and to act upon that
truth, God by his spirit. And so this gentile, this centurion
who was used to idol worship used to pagan religion, used
to symbols and objects and living in fear seeking to appease false
gods now hears of a man called the Lord Jesus Christ and he
realizes that this man is able to heal his servant Here we see
something of this, the character of this man. It's not just a
servant, as you and I would think of a servant. The word that has
been translated servant comes from the Greek word meaning slave
or bond slave. This person that was unwell,
near to death, with some form of paralysis, being paralyzed,
was a slave. And so we see the nature of this
man. He builds synagogues, he helps
the Jews, but also he has a concern for his slave. In the Roman culture,
every wealthy person had slaves. Over half of Rome, they say,
was people who had been gathered in from other countries that
they had defeated and been brought back to Rome to be slaves for
the people and so this man had a slave who was sick no doubt
being a concerned man he used all means to try and heal him
yet his situation got worse and now he was at the point of death
and so he hears of the Lord Jesus Christ The light of the glorious
gospel of Christ has began to shine within his heart and faith
draws him to send out these envoys to go and search for the Lord
Jesus so that his servant, his slave could be healed. We see something of what God
was doing in his life. Not only was he a nice, kind
person, but he was also a person who understood who he was before
a holy God. He was somebody who says, I am
not worthy. Trouble not thyself, for I am
not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore
neither thought myself worthy to come unto thee. See what the
Jews said about him. Please do this thing because
he is worthy. The Jews thought that this man
had something in him that was going to be attractive to the
Lord Jesus Christ to cause the Lord Jesus Christ to heal the
man's slave. but the man himself does not
see any worth in himself at all. Oh that we may feel something
like this man felt. Like I said the other day there's
such this casual blasé attitude between Christ and God and the
Lord's people. It's like we've brought God down
to our level. And God is our mate that we can
just speak to and do as we feel. We can cram him into a little
box. That's not the case. Remember
Peter. Depart from me O Lord for I am
a sinful man. The centurion has the same feeling. He understands that he's not
worthy that Christ should come into his house. Maybe there's
some idols there, maybe there's some shrines there, maybe he's
got something that he shouldn't have and he didn't want Jesus
to see. What about our houses? What have we got in our houses
that we wouldn't want the Lord Jesus to see? If the Lord Jesus
was to come into our house, And he was to look through our drawers. He was to go into our living
room, look at our books, look at our DVDs, look at our internet
browsing history. What would he see? Would we be ashamed? Would we
say, hang on a minute, please stand at the door, don't come
in here because I'm ashamed. I'm not worthy that you would
enter into my house because I've got things that I don't want
you to see. I'm ashamed of what I have been doing. I feel guilty
about what I have been doing. I don't want you to see what
I have been doing. Well, Jesus has already seen
what you have been doing, for his eyes are wide open. The scripture tells us nobody
can hide from his presence. If you go up to the mountains,
he is there. You go down into the depths of
the sea, Christ is there. He's able to see. He knows everything,
exactly what you have been doing. He's written it all down in his
book and one day it will be opened for all to hear what you have
done. Cornelius, not Cornelius, the
centurion, he was afraid. I'm not worthy that you should
come into my house. and are not even worthy that
I should enter into your presence. This is a true work of God. To
understand your sin, to understand your uncleanness, your worth
before a holy God. By our nature We deem ourselves
worthy especially in the culture that we live with a hatred of
authority. Everyone is worthy. Everyone
has something to say. Everything has an opinion and
nobody wants to fall down and to submit. When the Spirit of
God works in the life of a person they see themselves as unworthy
to enter into the presence of God, enter into the presence
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's because he brings them
under the conviction of their sin and shows them their need
for repentance. True repentance sees no worth
in self. He says I'm not worthy that you
should enter my house. I'm not worthy that I should
come unto thee. He sees his sin, his uncleanness
due to his sin. He sees the greatness of Christ,
the holiness of Christ, the goodness of Christ and he is guilty guilty
before God. Have any of you ever felt guilty?
Sometimes you see those people who commit some crime and they're
arrested. They don't want to show their
face do they? They put bags over their heads and they hide themselves. They feel ashamed. they feel
guilt for what they have done they don't want other people
to see you catch a child in the act They drop their heads. They're ashamed for what they
have done. They can't bear to lift up their
face to their parents because they're embarrassed that they've
been caught doing something that they shouldn't have been doing.
Just like the man in the temple, as Jesus says, smoke on his breast. God be merciful to me a sin he
couldn't lift up his eyes to heaven because he felt that his
sin just like this man I'm not worthy he felt guilty before
God and he felt ashamed but that didn't stop him seeking the healing of his slave
he sent others I thought that maybe there's some here today
who feel you're not worthy. You yourself you may be saved.
You may be a born again believer or you have someone who is laid
on your heart someone who you have a real concern for, for
their salvation, just like this centurion was a slave. His slave
was sick and he seeks the Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of this
slave that the Lord Jesus may heal him, understanding his own
failings, understanding his own sin, yet pleading with the Lord
that he would save this one that he loved so much. And he comes
to the Lord Jesus because he understands that the Lord Jesus
Christ is more than able to do it. And we know that he knows that
the Lord Jesus Christ is more than able because he says, you
don't even have to come to my house. Just say in a word. In the book of Matthew it says,
say the word and my servant that shall be healed. Jesus commends this man for great faith. Great faith. To us, he made it
like a withering sinner, unable to come out of his house, unable
to enter into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet
Jesus commends him that he has never seen so great a faith,
no, not in Israel. The Jews who should be coming
to the Lord Jesus, as they've been waiting for so many years
for this light to come, had no interest in the light. He came
to his own and his own did not receive him. But now we have
a Gentile, the first Gentile truly seeking after the Lord
Jesus. And we find that Jesus says that
he has great faith. By our nature, we have no faith. Our sinful nature is unable to
lay hold of the truths of God's word. Unable to lay hold of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And so we are born in a state
of unbelief. We have no faith. But throughout
the scripture Jesus reveals to us that there are degrees of
faith. This man is set at the pinnacle
Great faith. He acknowledges the power, the
authority and the love of the ability of the Lord Jesus Christ,
not even having to move from the place where he is, but just
to speak the word and whatever needs to be done will be done
at the command of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus says, this
is great faith. God gives faith to enable somebody
to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith, as I've said, comes by
hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Even in the lives of
a believer there may be times when that faith wavers. The faith that we are given is
not meant to just stagnate. We're not meant to just believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ one day and then continue on without
exercising that faith. That faith is meant to be exercised
through Christian obedience. In the gospel according to Mark, And chapter four, and the Lord
Jesus is in a boat with his disciples. They're crossing the sea and
he is fast asleep. Verse 38, and he was in the hinder
part of the ship asleep on a pillow and they awake him and saying
unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he rebuked
the wind and the sea. and said unto the sea, Peace
be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. And
he said unto them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you
have no faith? He accuses them of having no
faith. They are in the ship with the
Lord Jesus Christ the creator of heaven and earth. All things
were made by him and through him and without him there was
nothing made. They had God in the vessel and
they are filled with fear and accuse Christ of not caring for
them. They had saving faith but they
were not exercising faith in the providential workings of
God. And so Jesus tells them that
they had no faith. To exercise faith not saving
faith but faith in providence causes our faith to grow. As
we go through life and the experiences that life offers us that God
brings us through we're to exercise faith faith in his word when
things seemingly seem to be out of control we have to exercise
faith to trust in God that his character doesn't change that
his word is true that it doesn't alter and so we exercise faith
if we are filled with fear and unbelief and our faith has diminished
yes we remain the Lord's people but we are overcome by fear We're
overcome by doubt. We become lukewarm and weak.
Fear becomes our guide rather than faith. And so Jesus says
to them, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?
Why do you not trust me? I'm here in the boat with you.
and yet you're afraid and you're calling me into question that
I don't care. Christ cares. We see throughout
the gospel his compassion. He was compassionate to the leprous
man. He was compassionate here to
the centurion's servant and he is compassionate even today for
his dear people. Matthew 14. Peter being filled
with we could say great faith steps out of the boat and he
walks on the water to the Lord Jesus
Christ, a moment of great faith looking to the Lord Jesus and
then he is distracted, he's distracted by the storm and the wind and
the waves round about him and he begins to sing Jesus says
to him, O thou of little faith, why did you doubt? Great faith. Then halfway through
that great faith shrinks down into little faith and he's filled
with fear and he begins to sink. And so doubt is the hole that sinks the ship
of great faith. Doubt. Doubting God. Doubting God's word. Doubting
his salvation. Doubting his son. Doubting his
love. Doubting his ability. Doubting
his power, his authority. It shrinks. great faith and fills
us with fear. It's like a great ship, a great
ship of faith with a hole in it. It begins to flood with doubt
and with fear and it brings that ship down. It brought down Peter
filled with fear and he cries out, Lord Lord save me. This man, Jesus says, he has
great faith, unwavering trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, in
his ability, in his power, in his skill. He says, I'm a man
that has authority, acknowledging that Christ also has authority
to say a word and Christ's word would be obeyed. For Christ to heal all of these
people that we look at as we read multitudes came to him when
he was testifying to the disciples of John the Baptist he seemed
to prove to them of who he was by healing multitudes before
their eyes in fulfilling that prophecy. the greatest work that he did cost him. Say a word and it will be done.
Jesus could not say a word to heal your soul Jesus could not
just say a word to bring your soul from the pit of hell and
bring it onto the pathway that leads to heaven, it couldn't
be done with just a word, it had to be done with an action.
It had to be done with a voluntary sacrifice of Christ, making himself
a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. It
had to be done by him walking in obedience upon this world
under the law of God, in complete obedience to that law, and then
dying upon a cross. It could not be a word. It cost
the Savior his life to redeem his people. And so the greatest miracle is
not say a word and it is done. It is my God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me? That there could be a reconciliation
of Jew and Gentile into one church. There could be a reconciliation
of God and man through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is the greatest miracle. that sinners are saved by grace,
that God gives that faith and that repentance to trust in the
Lord Jesus Christ. as this man says, I am not worthy.
May the spirit of God teach us our worth before a holy God,
realizing that we do not deserve the least of his mercies, but
in his wrath, he remembers mercy and draws sinners to himself
and they can be healed. Healed of their sin. and being
brought into that spiritual health and union with the true and living
God. Wherefore, neither thought I
myself worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word, and my servant
shall be healed. Amen. Let us sing in conclusion from
Hymns for Worship 106, so the tune 504. Lord from whom all blessings
flow perfecting the church below steadfast may we cleave to thee
love the mystic union be join our faithful spirits join each
to each and all to thine lead us through the paths of peace
onto perfect holiness 106. ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ All blessings flow
♪ ♪ Now and in the church below ♪ ♪ Steadfastly we cling to thee
♪ ♪ Join our faithful spirits high
♪ ♪ Each to give our love divine ♪ ♪ Lead us through the paths
of peace ♪ Christmas Day. ♪ We who tell each other truth
♪ ♪ Bless the grace that is bestowed ♪ ♪ Order by the will of God
♪ ♪ Sweetly may we honor thee ♪ The arch-missile. Almighty God, we do give Thee
thanks that that middle wall was broken down and that there
is now only one church, Jew and Gentile, knit together in the
unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. We thank Thee for that
greater wall that was brought down through the sacrifice of
Thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the sins of His dear people. And we pray that we may be granted
that faith to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ, that we may live
be cleansed from our sin and our uncleanness. Do bless us
Lord with that great faith, that true living faith that lays hold
of Christ and trusts him and follows him and walks in obedience
to him. Do dismiss us we pray that with
thy blessing and now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God the Father with the fellowship and communion
of the Holy Spirit do rest and abide with you each now and for
evermore. Amen.