And we're going to look at Luke
chapter 7 this morning from verse 1 down through verse 9. And I'm taking the title for
the message from verse 9, and the title, the message will be,
So Great Faith Found in Israel. Let's read verse 9. When Jesus heard these sayings,
He marveled. at him, that is this centurion,
this Roman soldier, and turned him about and said unto the people
that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great
faith. No, not even in Israel. So great What was great about
it? So much so that the Lord Jesus
Christ marveled. The Lord Jesus Christ marveled
that this Roman commander, this centurion, this man who by birth
was a Gentile dog that the Jews despised, a Gentile dog, this
man was a sinner like you and like me, a Gentile. by nature,
in Adam, with his sin, without God, without Christ, and without
hope. Yet it says that this man believed
God. He believed the Lord Jesus Christ
to be God with all authority and without power, able to do
his will. He said, Lord, just speak a word
only and it's done. Able to accomplish all of his
purpose, The Lord says of him, and this is the Lord who knows
the heart and thoughts of all men, the Lord says of him, this
man has the greatest faith that I have found in Israel. Now he didn't say that of all
men. Turn just a few pages over, chapter 9, verse 41, Luke 9,
41, look here. And the Lord Jesus said, O faithless
and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and
suffer you? Bring thy son hither. They could not heal this man
who was demon-possessed and he says, O faithless and perverse
That's what we are by nature, faithless and perverse before
God. But how did this man, this sinful
Gentile, how did this man come to the place of saving faith? Where did it come from? How did
he get it? We know it didn't originate with
him. Because by nature men love darkness and hate light. The
only thing that's native to us is unbelief and rebellion against
God. Faith does not originate with
us. Remember this about faith. Faith is the gift of God, is
it not? It's the gift of God. Every good
and precious gift comes from God. And faith is called the
precious gift of God. You know this Scripture, we quote
it over and over again. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. This is the only time in Scripture
that the Lord says about this Roman soldier that his faith
was great faith. Not only was it great faith,
he said, it's so great faith. That's something, isn't it? That's
special, isn't it? We know that this so great salvation
that we read about in the book of Hebrews, where it says, how
shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? We know this
so great salvation is only received by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. By him all that believe are justified
from all things, which we could not be justified by the law of
Moses." That's Acts 13 38. This Roman centurion was like
another that we read about in the book of Acts chapter 10,
Cornelius. God chose that man and gave him
faith and sent him a gospel preacher in Peter who was given faith
to believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now it's interesting,
oftentimes the Lord says of His own 12 apostles. Let me show
you something. Turn over here to Matthew again. Matthew chapter 8. You remember
when the apostles were with the Lord in the ship, and the ship
began taking on water because the waves were boisterous and
the wind was howling? Verse 25 of Matthew 8, his disciples
came to him and awoke him saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And
he said to them, why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? But what a contrast, so great
faith and little faith. Then he arose and rebuked the
winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. The men marveled,
saying, what manner of man is this that even the winds and
the sea obey him? So great faith and little faith. Whatever faith we have, Be it
great or small, it is always the gift of God, it is always
the work of God in us and given to us. Let me show you that.
Turn to John chapter 6. John chapter 6 verse 28. John
6, 28. Faith is a gift of God, the precious
gift of God. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of God. In John 6, 28. Then said they
unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God? And the Lord answered and said
unto them, This is the work of God. that you believe on Him
whom He has sent." Faith is the gift of God, it is the work of
God, or what God works in us. It's given on the behalf of Christ
not only to suffer for Him, but also to believe the Gospel of
Philippians 1 verse 29. Whatever faith we have, be it
great or small, It's always a gift of God. It's always what God
works in us by His grace. Saving faith has always one object. One object. We can say faith
is objective then. Saving faith doesn't look in
here. Saving faith looks to Christ, who is the object of faith. Looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He's the author
of it. One day faith will end in sight.
It's always based upon one foundation. Faith is not based upon feelings,
is it? That would be a terrible thing,
wouldn't it? Feelings come and feelings go. Feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the Word of God.
Nothing else is worth believing. It's always based upon one foundation. One object, Christ. One foundation,
His Word. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of the Lord. And it is called precious. It
is the precious gift of God. If you want to turn and read
with me, you can. Find 2 Peter 1. 2 Peter 1. Not many things in the scripture
that are called precious. We are redeemed with his precious
blood to you who believe he is precious. And then 2 Peter 1,
Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ to them that
have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness
of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. We only have this precious gift
of faith through the righteousness of God revealed in the Gospel. And I know this, the Scriptures
teach this in Hebrews 11, without faith it is impossible to please
God. A man without faith is a man
without salvation. A man without faith is a man
without Christ, without hope, and without salvation. Oh, for
a faith that will not shrink, that will not totter or vary
upon any trial that the Lord sends our way. Now, let's go
back to Luke chapter 7 verse 1 and verse 2. And when he had ended all his
sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum,
and a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick
and ready to die." In Matthew chapter 8, we read that this
man had the palsy, he was paralyzed, and he was grievously tormented. commander, Roman soldier, he
had this faithful servant whom he loved and his faithful servant
was very sick. At the point of death, it says
there, he was ready to die. No doubt this man being a man
of influence and some wealth, no doubt he sought the best medical
treatment that was available. Don't you imagine so? What would
you do if your son or daughter was sick? Well, you would seek
out the best medical help that you could. He sought out the
best medical treatment, he sought out the best doctor in the town,
but it was of no help. He had exhausted all human means
and his servant was still grievously tormented and still at the brink,
or as they say, at the door of death. This sick man, this sick
servant is truly a picture of you and me. Grievously tormented
by our sin, sick in sin. sinful, guilty, and dying, none
righteous, no, not one, guilty before God. The only time that
a sinner will seek salvation and seek healing from the Lord
is when we know in our heart that we are dying and deserving,
guilty, deserving of God's wrath, and without hope. It's only then
that we'll get serious about seeking mercy where mercy is
found. When God convicts us of our sin
and shows us that we're sinners, then he shows us that he's the
only remedy for our sin and in him we have hope. Now look at
verse 3, Luke 7 verse 3, and when he heard of Jesus, you see
that? He heard of the Savior. He sent
unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would
come and heal his servant. This man, he heard. He heard. The Lord Jesus Christ. He heard
about the true Christ of God. Maybe he was present in that
sermon that's recorded back in the previous chapter. Maybe he
heard the sermon that the Lord had just given and the power
that was in His Word. What did he hear about the Lord
Jesus Christ? He heard the truth. He heard
of His healing of others. He heard of His power to raise
the dead. He heard about the Lord Jesus
Christ giving sight to the blind. Look right across the page in
Luke 7, verse 22. John sent his disciples, John
the Baptist, unto the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 22. Are you the
Christ? Are you the one that should come?
Or do we look for another? And the Lord answered and said,
You go your way, Verse 22 of Luke 7, you tell John what things
you've seen and heard, how the blind see, the lame walk, lepers
are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and to the poor the gospel is
preached. Blessed is he whosoever shall
not be offended in me. This centurion didn't hear about
a weak, impotent Savior. He heard about the One who is
the Almighty, powerful Savior. He heard about the Great Savior
who is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by Him.
He heard about the One who is called in Scripture Isaiah 63,
One who is mighty to save, able to save, willing to save, came
to save sinners. Notice the last part of verse
3. He sent unto him the elders of
the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.
And when they came to the Lord Jesus, verse 4, they besought
him, instantly saying that he was worthy, this man's worthy
of your attention. for whom he should do this. For he loves our nation, and
he hath built us a synagogue. He sent the elders of the Jews
to ask for mercy, to heal his servant. Being a Gentile, the
Jews weren't to come under the, or in the house of a Jew. The Gentiles were not allowed.
The truth is the Lord came to save sinners, Jew or Gentile. All have sinned and all come
short of the glory of God. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that the Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. Sinners. He came not to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And when these Jews
came, they bragged on this man. How He was worthy of the Lord's
attention, worthy of mercy. Why He loves this, He loves our
Jewish nation. You remember the people were
under the thumb and control and dominion of Rome. Why He loves
the Jewish people, why He even built, He even built us, that
says there in verse 5, He loves our nation and He's built us
a synagogue. He's built us a place to worship.
This shows us something of their idea about mercy, and it was
a wrong idea about mercy. This is exactly what most people
think. They thought this man merited
the Lord's attention because of what he had done. Isn't that
exactly what most people think today? That mercy is merited? If we're kind enough, if we give
enough, if we do enough good in the community, surely this
will merit mercy. No way. Mercy cannot be merited
or it ceases to be mercy. You may impress the mayor of
the town, but not the God of the universe. by your giving,
by your building, by your doing. Salvation is by the sovereign
love, mercy, and grace of God alone. It's not merit, it's His
mercy. Mercy is not moved by any good
in us, is it? Now think about that. Mercy is
not moved by any good in us. You know why? There's none good,
no not one. You see, it's not your merit,
but rather His mercy. Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us. It's not your works, but it's
His grace. We're saved. God who saved us
and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to God's own purpose and grace. It's not your labors,
but it's His love. His love for us. He said, you
did not love Me. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that He loved us. We only love Him because He first
loved us. God commended His love toward
us in that while we were yet, what? Sinners! God commended
His love toward us. You see, love, mercy, and grace
cannot be earned or merited, or it ceases to be such. Now
look at verse 6 and verse 7. Then Jesus went with them, And
he was not far, and when he was not far from the house, that
is, the centurion's house, the centurion sent friends to him
saying unto him, Lord, trouble not yourself, for I'm not worthy. That was a message that the centurion
said and the servant said, for I'm not worthy that thou shouldest
enter into my roof. Wherefore, neither thought I
myself worthy to come to thee. But say in a word, and my servant
shall be healed." The centurion sent his friends now, and as
the Lord was approaching his house, they declared unto the
Lord that he's not a worthy man, he's unworthy. He's unworthy. Unworthy of the Lord's presence,
unworthy for the Lord of glory to come to his house, unworthy
of the least of his mercies. You remember the prayer of Jacob?
In Genesis 32, 10, let me just read it to you. He said, I'm
not worthy of the least of thy mercies and of all thy truth. The Jews said, oh, this man is
worthy. This man sent his servant and
himself later said, I'm not worthy. I'm unworthy, not worthy of anything. Here's what I want to camp on
for a few minutes. We see in these following verses
the description of true faith. The description of true saving
faith, which is manifested by humility. Remember our Lord said
in Luke 18, Everyone that exalts himself shall be abased, and
he that humbles himself shall be exalted. Worthy evidence of
saving faith is humility. The faith of God the elect acknowledges
the truth. Now, saving faith has this opinion
of self. Here's what saving faith. The
opinion of saving faith of self is this, I'm nothing, not worthy,
and the Lord Jesus Christ, He's everything. You see, saving faith
and true faith has a low opinion of self, don't we? We've all
sinned and we've all come short of the glory of God. And we cry
out with the publican, Lord be merciful to me, the sinner. What did the Pharisee do? He
bragged on himself, didn't he? You remember what the Apostle
Paul said? Here's a man who believed God. He said, O wretched man
that I am. You see, saving faith has a very
low opinion of self. We're guilty, vile, depraved. Yes, we are sinners. Something
else saving faith has, this quality, a high opinion of the Lord Jesus
Christ. A high opinion. Lord, You have
all power. You have all authority. Look
at verse 8 and 9. For I also am a man set under
authority, having under me soldiers. And I say to one, Go, and he
goeth. And to another, Come, and he cometh. And to my servant,
Do this, and he does it. And when the Lord heard these
things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto
the people that follow him, I say unto you, I have not found so
great faith, no, not in Israel. This man had a high and lofty
opinion of the Lord's authority. He said, I know something about
authority. I have authority over my army,
over my servants. You have authority. Just speak
a word and it is done. He declares here his confidence
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He had no confidence in himself,
did he? He had no confidence in the flesh.
Saving faith is described, and the true Israel of God is described,
as those who are worshipping God in the Spirit, that rejoice
in Christ Jesus, and we have no confidence in the flesh. He
declares his total confidence in Christ. You have all power. You have all authority. He is
confessing here the Lord Jesus Christ to be Almighty God, is
He not? I'm also a man under authority. I say to this servant, go when
he goes, and to this servant, to come when he comes. He's confessing
here the Lord Jesus Christ to be almighty God with all power
and with all authority. And that's what saving faith
confesses, that the Lord Jesus Christ, He is our God. He is our God. You remember last
week we read the last verse in Matthew 7, 29. It says, He taught
them as one having authority, power. How much authority and
power does He have? You remember his prayer in John
17? Father, you've given me power and authority over all flesh
that I should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given
to me. This man was convinced and persuaded
as Abraham of old was that the Lord Jesus Christ had all power,
all authority, and able to do all things. You remember Abraham's
confession? I'm fully persuaded that of all
that God has promised, He's able to perform. That's what saving
faith is all about. It's believing that He is able
and I'm unable. I want you to find 2 Timothy.
Turn over there, 2 Timothy chapter 1. Saving faith is not believing
I'm able. Saving faith is believing that
He is able to save to the uttermost. 2 Timothy chapter 1, He is able
to keep us from falling and to present us thoughtless before
the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. 2 Timothy chapter
1 verse 12, For the witch cause I also suffered these things,
Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed for I know whom I have believed,
and I'm persuaded that He is able, He's able to keep that
which I've committed unto Him against that day. One other scripture
on this point, I want you to turn to Matthew and find Matthew
chapter 9, Matthew chapter 9 verse 27. Matthew 9 verse 27 so saving
faith has a low opinion of self Saving faith has a high opinion. He has all authority all power
able to save to the uttermost and Matthew 9 verse 27, When
Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying and
saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And when He was
coming to the house, the blind men came to Him, and Jesus saith
unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? And they said
unto Him, Yes. You see, saving faith believes
that He is able to do all things, able to accomplish our salvation,
able to justify the ungodly through His blood sacrifice. Something else, thirdly, about
saving faith, it believes and rests upon the Word of the Lord,
the Word of the Lord. Now, I want you to find Matthew
8, turn back over there. Matthew chapter 8. It says here in Luke 7, 7, you find
Matthew 8, Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come
unto thee, but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
Now look at Matthew 8. Matthew 8. Verse 8, the centurion
answered and said, Lord, I'm not worthy that thou shouldest
come under my roof, but speak the word only and my servant
shall be healed. Saving faith believes the word
of God. Just speak a word and it's done.
He didn't ask for a sign or a wonder. You remember the Pharisees said,
Lord, show us a sign. Give us a sign. Saving faith
has complete reliance upon, thus saith the Lord." We believe His
Word, don't we? That's why we read it. That's
why we study it. That's why we preach it. Saving
faith has complete reliance upon His Word. The Word of God is
quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. The promises
of His Word can never fail. You'll never go wrong believing
His Word. Believe His Word. Read it, study
it, and believe it. Believe it. All the promises
of God in him are yes and amen. Speak the Word only, and it's
done. He spake the universe into existence,
and it was done. Listen to this scripture, Psalm
33. For he spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood
fast. Ecclesiastes 8 verse 4, where
the Word of the King is, there's power. That's a good description
of saving faith. Complete reliance upon the Word
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just speak the Word. A high and
lofty opinion of the Lord. He has all authority and all
power because He is God and then I'm nothing. You see, to you
who believe Christ is everything. He is most precious. Christ is
all and in all. Now back to Luke 7. Verse 9,
When the Lord heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned
him about, and said to the people that followed him, I say unto
you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And
they that were sent returning to the house found the servant
whole that had been sick. So great faith. The Lord Jesus Christ marveled. The Lord had given this man the
precious gift of faith, and that he marveled and admired the man
for exercising that faith. Saving faith gives all the glory
and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ alone. We read a moment ago in
Matthew 8 verse 13, the Lord Jesus Christ said to the centurion,
Go thy way as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And
his servant was healed the self same hour. He believed God. It does not say according to
your prayer, or according to your righteousness, or according
to your goodness, but according to your faith. You see, faith
is the gift of God. All things are possible to those
who believe. You remember in Mark chapter
9, let's turn over there and read that. Mark chapter 9, Mark
9, 23. Remember the man that had the
demon-possessed son? In Mark 9, oftentimes verse 22,
It cast him into the fire and into the water to destroy him.
And he said, but if thou can't do anything and have compassion
on us and help us. And the Lord said to this man,
if thou can't believe, all things are possible to those who believe
God. What a precious gift faith is. And straightway the father cried
out and said, Lord, with tears, Lord, I believe. Would you help
my unbelief? Lord, I do believe. When the
centurion and his friends returned home, they found his servant,
notice what it says in Luke 7 verse 10, they that were sent returning
to his house and found the servant whole, complete. It reminds me
of this Scripture. In the Lord Jesus Christ was
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him you are complete. We're made whole in Him. Completely healed. Made whole
in Him. This too is our story, is it
not? We were sick, guilty, full of
sin, and dying, and dead in sin. And the Lord by His love, mercy,
grace, and power has made us whole. You hath He quickened
who were dead. With His stripes we are Healed,
what's said in Isaiah 53. He was wounded for our transgression,
bruised for our iniquity, and with His stripes we are healed. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
cleanses us from all our sin. His power has raised us from
the dead. You hath equickened who were
dead. The Lord has given us the precious gift of faith to believe
on Him. What is the result of that? Turn
to the book of Acts one more time. Find the book of Acts chapter
13. Acts chapter 13. Look at verse 38 carefully. Acts
13 verse 38. You see, without faith it is
impossible to please God. Acts 13 verse 38. Be it known
unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man, Through
the God-man Mediator, the One that was crucified and slain,
risen the third day, is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.
And by Him all that believe are justified. justified, declared
not guilty, justified freely by His grace to the redemption
that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. By Him all that believe are justified
from all things which you could not be justified by the law of
Moses. Turn over here to Acts 15. Acts
15. We believe, verse 11, we shall
be We believe that through the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be
saved, justified, even as they. God saved Jew and Gentile the
same way. By grace are you saved through
faith, that not of yourself, it is a gift of God. One more
verse and I'll let you go. Turn to John chapter 5. I've
not found so great faith in Israel. May God grant us the precious
gift of faith to believe Him. John 5, 24, Verily, verily, I
say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him
that sent me, has everlasting life. You see the value of faith? That's how we receive Christ,
who is life. He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall
not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." You know
why God has so fixed salvation to be received by faith? You
know why? It gives Him all the honor and
glory. Doesn't it? Faith is the gift
of God. Faith doesn't accomplish salvation.
Faith received Him who did accomplish salvation. Therefore we sing,
to Him be the glory, both now and forever. He has saved us
by His grace and granted us faith in Him.