What's Your Faith Like?

I just want God to be pleased with me. I want God to be pleased with me. Not in the hereafter when its all over. But, right now. I want my Jesus to look at me and be pleased with me now. I know God always loves us and that affection is eternal. I know he favors us and his blessings are unmerited. I get that. But, I don’t want God disappointing in my actions. I don’t want God to be grieved by my works. I want to impress God and please God by living as directed and trusting as expected. (preach)

Is God pleased with how I behave at work....treat my family…(run)

But one thing is certain if you are going to please God it must begin with your faith, for the bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God.

Great Faith is Indiscriminate

Faith in christ Jesus is possible for anyone, anywhere, at anytime. God does not turn away anyone who draws near to Him, and faith in God has no categorical qualifications. Great faith does no discriminate from nor against. We see that the person who in question is not a Jew who enjoys the blessings and promises of Abraham. But, this is a foreigner, a centurion (explain centurion). But, I’m so God does not deny us grace because of other peoples expectations.

Where others disqualify you…God qualified you

Where others counted you out…God counted on you

Where others forgot about you…God had you in mind

When others doubted you…God believed in you

When others exposed you…God covered you

When others saw you as useless…God used you anyway

When others said you where worth monopoly money…God purchased yo with his blood. Then the Text blesses me when it says, “when the centurion heard about Jesus...” (Preach)

Then the Text blesses me when it says, “when the centurion heard about Jesus...” (Preach)

The centurion sends a delegation of Jewish leaders to get a request to Jesus. When they get to Jesus the elders give all these reasons that Jesus should do this good deed for the man. This is so problematic! This whole scene doesn’t make any sense.

Great Faith utilizes Intersession

Jesus then decides to God heal he man’s servant. When he gets close to the house the man then sends friends (Preach friends). When he sent the Jews he got Jesus attention, but when he sent his friends he got some results. When you have faith, God can use your faith along with some friends to produce a blessing.

Great Faith isn’t easily Influenced (v.7)

When the centurion sends the friends he has a new message. He obviously had to know that Jesus was close. Maybe the crowd was in earshot, or maybe, the could see Jesus down the block, or maybe one of his friends sent him text and said “Jesus bout to pull up”. Whatever the case. He said “Wait! Go tell Jesus I’m not worthy for him to come here.”

Now here is where we need to use our memory or go back and see what the Jews described him as. Because I could have sworn that the Jewish elders said, “he is worth because x,y,z”. But he says I’m not worth because he does let these people gas him up. In other words he has enough sense to know that he is not entitled to a miracle because of what he has done. That Grace is not merit based.

Great Faith acknowledges Imperfection (v.8)

The centurion acknowledges his limitations. Because he understands and is familiar with authority he knows that when it comes to this sickness he doesn’t have any.

If you just say the word…because when you speak things happen.

Great Faith is Impactful (v.9-10)

The faith of this man impressed Jesus so much that he stops the crown and looks at them and says, “not even in Israel have I found such great faith” The faith was in who Jesus was and what his word could do. And it was so strong that the healing wasn’t ever for the centurion as much as it was for the servant.

Great Faith is Impressive

Great Faith is Impactful (v.10)

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