Luke 7 1-10

I really like the story of the centurion which we read about today in Luke’s gospel because it has a lot to say to us about prayer and faith and the authority of God.

This morning I’d like to look at this story and see what we can learn from it. And then look at how we can build our faith so that like the centurion, we too can receive what we need from God.

So to start with, this centurion has a slave he values and cares for who is dying. Now for many people this may have looked like a situation which could only end in death – but the centurion has hope – because he has faith in Jesus.

We have no idea where he gained this faith – because we’re not told. My guess is that at some point he himself had probably gone to see Jesus and heard him speak and watched him heal people.

However he’d come to faith – the important thing is that he recognised that Jesus had authority over sickness and disease - the authority to heal and restore people to health.

As a centurion he understood the concept of authority very well – because as he says in verse 8 - “I am a man set under authority with soldiers under me.”

He would have had command over a group of 80 soldiers and he knew very well that if he gave an order to his men - it would be obeyed. Whatever he commanded would be done.

And he understood that when it came to sickness and disease, whatever 

Jesus commanded would be done. This is why he says in verse 7 “only speak the word and let my servant be healed,” - or as the NIV puts it –“just say the word and my servant will be healed.”

So this Roman centurion – although he was a Gentile and not a Jew – obviously believed that Jesus was who he claimed to be – the Messiah, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob made flesh, the creator of the universe.

And we can see this from the humility he displays in verse 6 - where he addresses Jesus as “Lord” and recognises that he is not worthy to have him come to his home.

Even though as a Roman officer – he was part of the ruling elite - he does not presume to come himself and ask Jesus for healing. Instead, he sends his Jewish friends to ask on his behalf.

He obviously recognised also that the Jews were God’s chosen people. We’re told in verse 5 - he loved the Jewish people and had built a synagogue at his own expense for them.

I’ve noticed that there is a lot of anti-Jewish feeling around at the moment particularly on the political left and among the liberal intelligentsia. Much of this stems from Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

The Jewish nation like all nations is far from perfect – and it’s OK to be critical of their actions. However, as Christians we need to be wary of harbouring anti-Jewish feelings – because these feelings do not come from God.

The Jewish people are still very much in God’s heart – and in the future the bible tells us clearly that God will turn away Godlessness from the Jews and they will come to recognise Jesus as their Messiah.

Indeed – my understanding of scripture is that at some point in the future, the church will be raptured and removed from the world.

And at this point - when the seven-year period of the Tribulation begins and the Anti-Christ comes to power - the Jews will once again be God’s chosen people to share the message of salvation with the world.

We may be living in the time of the church but the Jews still have a central role to play in God’s plans for the future. As Christians, we may not agree with some of their government’s actions – but nonetheless like the centurion, we should love them and seek to bless their nation.

There is a chain of people involved in the healing of this servant. The servant himself is too ill to be aware of the events unfolding around him.

But he has a master who loves and cares about him and this master in turn has Jewish friends who are happy to approach Jesus on his behalf.

The crucial link in this chain though is the faith of the centurion – and his conviction that if Jesus will only speak the words of command – his servant’s healing will occur.

As Christians we lift people to God in prayer - many of whom will be totally unaware that we are praying for them. And we can ask our friends to pray for them too.

And for us also, the crucial link in this chain of prayer is faith – the belief that if only God will speak those words which we are praying for – our prayers will be answered.

When we pray we need to understand that God has ultimate authority over both the physical and spiritual realms - and that He exercises this authority by speaking.

He didn’t create this world with a large team of angels with shovels. He spoke creation into being.

He planned and envisaged in his mind what He wanted to create and then 

He spoke words of command to bring that creation into being.

When God speaks words of command - his creative power and authority are released – and whatever God speaks will surely come to pass.

If you’re a Christian it is because God has spoken words of command over your life. He has commanded that spiritual darkness must depart from you and that your spiritual eyes be opened to recognise Him.

And every child that is born – exists because God has spoken – because He has envisaged in his mind the person he wanted to create and has spoken their existence into being and has breathed life into them.

God is the Lord and creator of all things and because He is love - He creates everything in love. In other words, He loves his creation and that includes you.

John’s gospel tells us that Jesus is the Word and that the Word was with God and the Word was God.

As the Word - Jesus brings into being everything that His father speaks. God the Father envisages what He wants to create and speaks -  and Jesus brings it into being.

As John tells us - All things came into being through him. Without him, not one thing came into being.

When Jesus was on the earth, the words of command that came out of his mouth had the power and authority of God upon them to heal and restore life.

This why Jesus spoke words of command when he healed people. Pick up your mat and walk. Stretch out your hand. Be healed. Be opened. Be set free from your suffering.

As he spoke, the creative power and authority of God rested upon His words and bought them to pass. Damaged cells were restored; leprous body parts were re-created. Life that had departed from people returned.

And of course like his Father, Jesus has authority not just over the physical realm but also the spiritual realm. He has authority over every power of darkness.

This is why demons fled and departed at his command and begged him not to destroy them.

So when we pray we are effectively asking God to speak over a situation or person and to use His authority to bring His kingdom and His will into being.

And this is what the centurion recognised about Jesus and why he was so confident that if only Jesus issued the command his servant would be healed.

The trouble for most of us is – that although like the centurion we may recognise God’s power and authority to answer our prayers – we can doubt  his willingness to answer them.

Although we know He could – often if we’re honest - we can doubt that He cares enough about our particular situation to want to intervene.

So what practically can we do about this? What can we do to increase our faith? Well I think that the key to strong faith is rooted in knowing how much God loves us.

The more we know deep within our beings how much God loves us – the greater will be our faith.

And this is why Satan seeks to cause us to doubt God’s love. If he can get us to start to doubt that God really cares about us or our family or our situation – our faith deflates.

Have thoughts like – ‘I don’t know why you’re praying again. It’s pointless you know. He’s not listening.’ And ‘why should he care about your trivial problem when there are much more important things going on in the world’ – crossed your mind?

The truth is though, that God does care deeply about our situation – because the bible tells us so.

Peter tells us “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

And when we pray of course He listens. It’s impossible for Him not to – because He’s omniscient – He hears and sees and knows everything.

John tells us; “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

If what you’re praying for is in line with God’s will to save and heal people, to restore relationships and communities and to bring peace – He hears you.

And we only have to look at the cross to remember God’s love not just for us but for our family and friends.

He loves each one of us here today enough to die for us. Jesus would rather die than be separated from you.

So rather than let negative thoughts and feelings undermine our prayer lives – we need to keep on praying persistently for God’s kingdom to come and 

His will to be done in our lives and the lives of our loved ones.

And most importantly we need to make a deliberate effort to praise and thank God. The more we thank God for all that is good in our lives and the many ways he has blessed us, the more our faith will rise.

And we can thank God in advance for speaking over our situation. Prayer with thanksgiving is powerful because it expects results.

As Jesus said – “whatever you ask for in prayer – believe that you have received it and it will be yours.”

As I’ve said before, Christians are like Helium balloons that can rise up as we are filled with praise and thanksgiving.

However, Satan is keen to puncture our confidence and as we let negativity influence us – our faith diminishes and we float back down towards the ground.

So to conclude what I want to say this morning – I think there is much we can learn from the story of this centurion’s faith.

And just as Jesus heard the centurion’s request and healed his servant – we can be confident that he loves us and hears our requests.

And if we will persevere in prayer in faith with thanksgiving – we too over time will find that our prayers also are answered – and that the living God has spoken over our situation and life.

I’d like to close with a time of prayer.

Prayer

Although we can’t see him Jesus is among us now. He hasn’t changed in his willingness to answer our prayers. He loves us and wants the best for us and those we love – and he knows the thoughts and prayers of our hearts.

In a few moments of quiet – like the centurion - ask Jesus to speak words of command over any person or situation which you care deeply about.

If you want to, you can say “Lord just say the word”… and then present your request to him

Pause – time of quiet

Now thank Jesus in faith for hearing your prayer – and for the words he has spoken over your request and continue to thank him over the coming days.

Amen

Luke 9 verses 51 to 62

Today’s passage from Luke’s gospel is really about our response to Jesus and this is what I’d like to look at this morning.

In the first few verses we see Jesus being sent by God the Father to Samaria. Remember that he only did what his father asked him to do.

So Jesus would have prayed about this beforehand. ‘Father where do you want me to go next,’ and God sent him to the Samaritan people.

God’s heart was to reach out to the people of Samaria through Jesus - to tell them the good news of the kingdom; to heal them from disease and sickness and to set them free from spiritual oppression.

In short God’s plan was that through Jesus many Samaritan people would be saved.

Now lots of Christians talk about being saved – but what does this mean?

Well most of the time we use it in the sense of being saved from hell and judgement but actually it means more than this.

The Greek word “sozo” from which we get the word saved, doesn’t just mean to to save or rescue. It also means to deliver, to protect, to preserve, to heal and to make well.

So God’s will for the Samaritan people was that through Jesus they should firstly and most importantly be saved and restored to a relationship with Him – but also over time - be made whole in body, soul and spirit – to be restored to the people He originally intended them to be.

And of course this is ideally what God wants for each one of us here today.

Firstly through Jesus, He wants us to be saved and rescued from judgement and restored to a relationship with Him. But also as we walk with Him through life, He wants to continue to sozo us. To deliver and protect and heal us and make us well – not just physically, but mentally and spiritually and in our characters and relationships.

Being saved is both immediate and continuous. We are saved the moment we put our faith in Jesus but God also continues the process of our salvation.

And of course we won’t be completely saved - sozo’d - until we go to heaven where one day we will be made whole and perfect – but the process of our sozoing starts the moment we accept Jesus into our lives.

At this point God can start His work of restoring us to the people He originally intended us to be.

You see, as far as God is concerned each person He creates is a potential masterpiece. But we are born into an imperfect and evil world and this world mars and spoils us.

We are cut off from a relationship with the one who made us and we live in a spiritually dark world where people and evil spirits can hurt and harm us.

The masterpieces that God originally intended us to be get wounded and damaged. And God’s heart bleeds for us because this is not what He intended.

His heart is to sozo us – to save us and rescue us – and like a portrait painting that has been damaged – to restore and repair us to the people He originally intended us to be.

And this of course is why Jesus came and died for us on the cross. This is why he took our sin and failure upon himself  and died for us – so that we could be sozo’d and restored to a relationship with God.

And then through that relationship – over time - the effects of all the ugly and bad things that have hurt us and spoiled our lives – can gradually be healed and removed from us – and we can be set free to love ourselves and to love God and those around us.

I’m conscious when I say this – that being sozo’d is a long process – something that God does bit by bit. Sometimes the effects of what we’ve experienced in life stay with us for many years – and God’s restoration process can seem very slow.

But as we co-operate with Him, as we seek to live as His children and to study His word and to serve Him, He wants to set us free from fear and oppression and to make us well.

Of course sometimes God does allow us to go through difficult and testing times and we may experience sickness and suffering.

And sometimes we may not be phsically healed – and this can be confusing and upsetting – but still we may be made well in other areas of our life: spiritually,  mentally and emotionally and in our relationships with others.

So, Jesus went to Samaria with a heart full of love for the Samaritan people – but they rejected him and did not receive him – and so God’s plan was frustrated.

And its the same today. Many people like the Samaritans in this passage - reject Jesus out of hand and don’t even want to hear what he has to say.

And there are others – as we see in today’s reading - who know about Jesus and have heard his message but still hold back from following him.

This includes some people who go to church. They hear about God’s love and being saved – but they want to keep God safely at arms length.

These people can be religious and may like coming to church. It may comfort them and enable them to feel that they’re doing their bit for God – but they don’t really want a relationship with God.

They don’t want to invite Jesus into their lives – and allow him to direct and guide them. And so like some of the people in today’s gospel reading, when pressed they come up with excuses.

They don’t want a God who asks them to lay aside their own plans and agendas for their lives – and to follow His plan instead. They want to be firmly in control of their own lives.

Actually if the truth be told - they want a God who is a bit like superman – who will turn up and help them when they need it - but will then retire gracefully until He’s needed again.

There are others who have felt Jesus knocking at the door of their lives – and know they should make their peace with God – but they’re not ready to do this yet, so again they come up with excuses.

I will follow you one day God but first let me focus on earning lots of money so that I can provide for my family.

I will follow you one day God – when I’m a bit older and have indulged myself a bit more and enjoyed more of what the world has to offer.

I will follow you one day God but life is awfully busy at the moment – and I don’t really have the time.

You see it really comes down to whether we are prepared to allow God to be the God of our lives – and to live life His way, under His direction and guidance.

I like the analogy of a driving instructor. When we learn to drive we have a instructor sitting next to us in the car. And he tells us where he wants us to go and what he wants us to do.

And this is what the Christian life is like. We invite God into our lives to sit next to us and to guide us through life – to tell us where we are to go and what He wants us to do.

Of course we retain our free will – we’re driving – and sometimes we may hesitate or question where He’s leading us. 

Sometimes like the prophet Jonah, we may even deliberately take a wrong turn.

But we’ll only find that we get lost and end up at a dead end – and then when we’re ready God will gently direct us back onto the route He has planned for us.

And because God created and designed us – the route He has mapped out for us will be the best possible route through life. It will be the route that brings the greatest possible blessing not just to us – but to those around us. And it will be the route to heaven.

God gives us free will and we can resist him and push him away and say ‘no this is my life – I’m going to go exactly where I want and do exactly what I want to do.’

But the likelihood is that if we’re honest enough to recognise it – in time we’ll end up feeling empty, disillusioned and lost – and in need of God’s loving presence in our lives to help us find our way.

So to start to tie up what I want to say this morning, God is looking lovingly at each one of us here today – and His plan and His hearts desire is to save us – to rescue us from judgement, to deliver us from oppression, to protect us , and over time to heal us and make us well.

And some of us are co-operating with this plan. We’ve invited Jesus into our lives and although we’re far from perfect and we don’t always get it right - we’re doing our best to follow him.

And as we follow Jesus and seek to play our part in his plan to save those around us - we’ll find that we ourselves are sozo’d.

God will protect us and deliver us and over time make us well, not always physically, but mentally and spiritually and relationally.

But equally there are those of us like the people in today’s reading who for various reasons have pushed away or put off saying yes to God’s plan for their lives.

So this morning I think God wants each one of us to think about where our lives are focused. Do we want to live life in co-operation with God?

Do we want Him living in our lives – sitting next to us as it were – and guiding us? Do we want to discover why He created us and with His help roll up our sleeves and seek to play our part in His plan to save and bless those around us.

Or are we keeping Him at arms length? The choice is up to us. 

Don’t be deceived the only way God can save us is is through us welcoming Him to come and live in our hearts and lives.

You can come to church as often as you want. You can sing heartily and take communion for many years – but if you deliberately persist in keeping God at arms length He cannot save you.

However, the moment we say yes to Him – yes Lord I do want to follow you – yes I do want you in my life - He rescues us from judgment and saves us – and then as we co-operate with Him, His plan for our lives can start to unfold.

God loves each one of us – but He will never force himself upon us. The choice to invite Him into our lives is ours.

And it is a choice – not a feeling. We can choose rationally regardless of how we might be feeling.

I’d like to close with a time of prayer.

Close your eyes and reflect for a moment. Do you want to invite God into your life?

Do you want Him to save you from judgement and to protect you and deliver you and over time to make you well.

Do you want Him sitting next to you as it were and guiding you through life? Are you prepared with His help, to follow Him?

If your anwser is yes just repeat quietly after me in your heart the prayer I’m going to say now.

Lord I’m sorry I’ve pushed away your love and gone my own way in life.

I’m sorry for the bad things I’ve done in my life and the people I’ve hurt.

Lord Jesus thank you for loving me and dying for me on the cross.

Thank you for taking my sin and being punished in my place so that I can go free.

Lord Jesus I want you in my life.

I want you to direct and guide me.

I want you to be my God.

Lord Jesus please come into my life to be with me for ever. 

Amen.

If you’ve said that prayer and really meant it - do come and see me or Campbell after the service. Thank you.