His faith in what? Speak the word only, and it will be done.

Transcription

1 Matt. 8:5-10. And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. # What did Jesus commend in the centurion? His great faith. His faith in what? Speak the word only, and it will be done. # This man was from a heathen background. He was not from the religion of the Jewish nation. He had grown up with Roman influence, gods of sport, licentiousness, idolatry, and violence. Yet here we see him open to the Holy Spirit. He believed that Christ s word would do whatever Christ commanded it to. 1 / 10

2 # The centurion understood something about Christ, that not even Christ s disciples understood. Nowhere in Israel, was it understood like the centurion did. What was it that was so vital to be understood? Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. John 8:31, 32. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. # The Bible, the word of God. We read the word, and understand it to be what God says to us, and wants us to be; a manual, if you like, for the Christian. If you want some guidance, or need encouragement, you go to the Bible. # However, this verse is saying more than read your Bible, know the truths, believe the doctrines, and ye are my disciples. 2 / 10

3 John 1:1, 3. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made # Continue in GOD! (Word was God) # Characteristic of that Word -- All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made # Of Christ it says all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. This is ALL things, whether things that are already created, or things that are yet in the future; whether things natural, such as mountains, birds, animals, and the stars etc, or spiritual things, such as righteousness, faith, and hope, moral character. ALL things were made by him, and nothing is made without him. # If we continue in His word, we continue in His ability to CREATE all things. Not just His ability to CREATE, but to create ALL things. 3 / 10

4 Isaiah 55:10,11. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 57:19. I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace, to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him. Continue to remain, abide, persevere, be steadfast or constant in. Isnt it restful and pleasant to remain in one place!. How much trouble and weariness is it to move about constantly? It is unsettling and draining not having a permanent place to be. But when you have a place, there you can rest, there you can abide, there you can continue. What does the Scripture say, The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 4 / 10

5 If I ask you tonight, Lay down on your bed, and roll from one side of the bed to the other, continually until you go to sleep. How successful, how restful would you be, continually moving about. In order to fall asleep, in order to have rest, you must be in one place, and you continue, stay there, in order to enjoy your rest. Jesus says, Continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. # Now to remain in his word, to continue in God, to rest yourself in His creative power, means much to our Christian experience. Ed. 29. The result of the eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is manifest in every man's experience. There is in his nature a bent to evil, a force which, unaided, he cannot resist. To withstand this force, to attain that ideal which in his inmost soul he accepts as alone worthy, he can find help in but one power. That power is Christ. Co-operation with that power is man's greatest need. 5 / 10

6 SC 18. It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken. Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them. "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one." "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Job 14:4; Romans 8:7. Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort, all have their proper sphere, but here they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the heart; they cannot purify the springs of life. There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness. SC 19. It is not enough to perceive the loving-kindness of God, to see the benevolence, the fatherly tenderness, of His character. It is not enough to discern the wisdom and justice of His law, to see that it is founded upon the eternal principle of love. Paul the apostle saw all this when he exclaimed, "I consent unto the law that it is good." "The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." But he added, in the bitterness of his soul-anguish and despair, "I am carnal, sold under sin." Romans 7:16, 12, 14. He longed for the purity, the righteousness, to which in himself he was powerless to attain, and cried out, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?" Romans 7:24, margin. Such is the cry that has gone up from burdened hearts in all lands and in all ages. To all, there is but one answer, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29. Joh 14:1-4. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, the re ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 6 / 10

7 # Christ s parting message to His disciples was, Let not your heart be troubled. Let not the dregs of your heart roll, or unsettle you. I go to prepare a place for you. I am able to re-make you. God is real, my brethren. So often we see Christ as our Example. He lived a good life, and revealed the principles of God. So often we then go set out to follow His example. So often, Christ is to us only God s SIGNPOST pointing out the way of truth. But Jesus did not say He is the SIGNPOST, He did not say I will SHOW you what I want done. Instead He said, I am the way; I am the truth. Christ is the WORD itself. He says, Believe on ME, and ye are my disciples indeed. He rebuked the Pharisees, saying, Ye search the Scriptures daily, for in them ye think ye have everlasting life. But they are they which testify of ME. Only when we have Christ do we have the truth. If we see Jesus as only the Example, pointing out the truth for us, we have religion, but we do not have peace, we do not have rest. We are yet in our sins. # So often we feel we must be strong against sin, resolving to do better, stretching our mental astuteness to reach after God. We bend our energies to be right, to defend ourselves against evil. 7 / 10

8 1. Strong will: (I WILL NOT do it!) 2. Knowledge: (I know how wrong it is!) 3. Separation: (I must keep away from it!) 4. Praying: (If I only pray, then I will be safe!) But God says it this way 2 Tim. 2:1. Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. RH Jun 16, The lessons contained in the words of Paul to Timothy are of the greatest importance to us today. He charges him to "be strong"--in his own wisdom?--no, but "in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." He who would be a follower of Christ is not to rely upon his own capabilities, or to feel confident in himself.he is to draw strength from a sure and safe source, that never fails those who would have divine power. The exhortation to us is, "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." If the Christian feels his weakness, his inability, by putting his trust in God, he will find the grace of Christ sufficient for every emergency. ST Jan. 26, Infinite Love has cast up a pathway upon which the ransomed of the Lord may pass from earth to heaven. That path is the Son of God. Angel guides are sent to direct our erring feet. Heaven's glorious ladder is let down in every man's path, barring his way to vice and folly. He must trample upon a crucified Redeemer [before] he can pass onward to a life of sin. 8 / 10

9 Eph.2:8. By grace are ye saved, through faith. Matt. 1:21. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. #Christ says He Himself is THE WAY, the truth; in other words, He is the active method transforming us. Christ is not only the road, He is the way. In other words, He is the spiritual life, which makes us like Him. Without Him, was not anything made that was made. Now this means a very great deal to us. When we are spiritually lost or confused, it does us a great deal of good to hear that familiar voice saying, I am the Way. We can then know the way, because Jesus is God s way. I would like to close by referring to an incident from Pilgrims Progress. How many of you are familiar with Pilgrims Progress. You will remember that Christian had entered in through the wicket gate. He had left the city of destruction, and was walking along the path of salvation yet he was still weighed down with his burden. It was not until he came to the cross, and saw Jesus, that his burden fell off. He did not have to undo his burden, and throw it off. When he saw Jesus, and what He meant to him, his burden fell off of itself, and never seen again. 9 / 10

10 How is it with us? We have entered upon the path of salvation; we have entered through the wicket gate we have made a decision to follow Jesus. But many of us are still weighed down with our burden. Many of us do not have rest, we do not continue in a constant place. We go through our experience, bemoaning our weaknesses, our short-fallings, and always feeling tardy, reaching for what God wants, but never entering in. We feel like our decision to have a Master, a Saviour is a farce. We carry our burden of sin as though it were an expected companion of our experience. But Christ relieves us of our burden. My peace, He says, I give unto you. As we see Him, and what He is to us, our burden will fall off, never to be seen again. Here truly begins, continuing in His word, His word that makes and sustains us. 10 / 10