Church Sermon - June 13, 2004

Rev. Mark F. Bartels

Old Testament Lesson;; 1 Kings 8:22-43
Epistle Lesson; Galatians 1:1-10
Sermon Text; Luke 7:1-10

About one hundred years ago, during the wintertime, there was a man who was traveling west, across the nation. As he traveled, he came to spot where there was a big river that he had to cross. The river was frozen over with ice. Since he was a little bit inexperienced outdoors, he didn’t know if the ice would hold him or not, but he had to get across the river. He had heard that if you stand straight up and down, all of your weight is on top of your feet. But, if you lie down on your stomach and spread your weight over the whole ice, the ice is less apt to crack and break.

So the man said a little prayer, before he got onto the ice, asking God that He would keep the ice from breaking. Then, the man got down on his stomach and started working his way, slowly across the river, listening with his ear, to see if he could hear any cracks in the ice.

When all of a sudden, he could hear a racket coming behind him. He lifted up his head and looked behind him. Aghast, he saw this wagon driver, with four big horses and a big wagon filled with big heavy logs, barreling right toward the ice on the river! He could tell that this wagon was about to come right on the ice. The man was petrified!

The wagon driver and horses ran right onto the ice and started across the river. As they passed by, the wagon driver looked down at the man on the ice, waved to him, and continued across the ice to the other side.

The man got up off his stomach and walked the rest of the way across the ice.

However, God doesn’t just give us the promise that our sins are forgiven. God gives us a huge package of promises, that all go together as one package!

Those are some of the many promises that God gives to His people.

When we talk about weak faith and strong faith, usually we are not talking about our faith in Jesus, as our Savior from sin, but rather in those other promises of God. Are you like the man crawling across with his stomach on the ice, hoping that God keeps those promises to you, but not sure if He will? Or are you going forward in confidence, knowing that the thickness of God’s promises are going to uphold you, and He is going to keep His promises to you?

Let’s look at a man today, who had a profound strength of faith in Jesus, as his Savior and in God’s promises. I am talking about the centurion in today’s scripture reading. I want you to see three things that make up a strong faith in God’s promises.

Number one, faith comes to Jesus in times of need.

The centurion, (who was not a Jew, he was Roman), was in need. The Bible tells us that his servant, who was very valuable to him, was sick. The centurion knew where to go. He knew to go right to Jesus, the Almighty God.

In our lives, there may be many times when we come into times of need, too.

The servant was somebody who was valuable, very valuable to the centurion, and the centurion needed some help from Jesus.

Maybe a loved one, your son, or your daughter is in the military right now. That person in your life is very valuable to you. And, it is a time of great need for somebody who is very valuable to you. Faith goes to Jesus, in time of need.

Maybe a loved one, your husband, or wife is sick. It is a time of need for someone who is very valuable to you. Faith goes to Jesus, in a time of need.

Maybe there is somebody at your place of employment, who is very important to your place of employment, and is ill. And, your place of employment may not stand, without that person. It is time of need for you. Faith goes to Jesus, in a time of need.

Martin Luther had a friend by the name of Philip Melancthon. Philip Melancthon was a profound theologian. He got sick one day, and Luther was afraid he was going to die. Luther was afraid that the whole cause of the Gospel would collapse, if Philip Melancthon died. He was very valuable to Martin Luther, so he went right to Jesus in his time of need.

So number one we see that faith goes to Jesus in a time of need.

Number two we need to recognize that it is not because we are worthy that Jesus helps us.

The centurion sent some Jewish elders to Jesus, to ask Jesus to heal his servant. The Jewish elders came to Jesus. They knew that the centurion was a man of faith, so they pleaded earnestly with Jesus, "This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." He deserves it. He loves our nation. He built our synagogue. They had a building project and he was probably the major, if not the only, donor it took, to put up that building. They were saying, "This man has a strong faith, Jesus. He deserves to have you come and heal his servant."

So Jesus headed to the man’s house. But the centurion showed that he recognized he was totally unworthy, totally unworthy of any help from Jesus, what so ever. When he heard that Jesus was coming to his house, he sent some more servants. Those servants said to Jesus, for the centurion, "Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I don’t deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you."

The centurion recognized, "I am unworthy. I don’t even deserve to see you face to face. I am unworthy. I am a sinner. Here is the great God, the Holy God. I am totally unworthy to be in His presence, to see His face, to have Him come into my house. I don’t deserve anything good from Him."

In our catechism, we have learned to pray in the Fifth Petition. Martin Luther’s explanation of the Fifth Petition goes this way:

We pray in this petition that our Father in Heaven would not look upon our sins, or on their account deny our prayer. For we are not worthy of anything that we ask, neither have we deserved it. But we pray that He would give us everything by grace, for we daily sin much and deserve nothing but punishment.

Faith recognizes, "I am totally unworthy for any help from my Savior."

So then, why does Jesus help us? That is the next thing that faith recognizes. Faith recognizes that Jesus is a Man of authority.

This is where the centurion’s faith really shined. The centurion used an example in his own life. He said to Jesus, "I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it."

What the centurion was saying to Jesus is, "I have people who supervise me. And, I am a man of authority. I have servants under me.

Jesus, when my superior tells me to do something, he makes sure I do it, because his reputation is at stake. And, when I tell one of my servants to do something, I make sure they do it, because my reputation is at stake then."

Then he said to Jesus, "Say the word and my servant will be healed."

He was saying to Jesus, "You do not have to come into my house. You don’t have to touch my servant. You don’t have to put your hands on him. All you have to do, (you are a man of ultimate authority); all you have to do is say the word. And once you have said the word, once you have said that my servant will be healed, then your reputation is at stake, Jesus. You will not let your reputation fall. You will protect and defend your reputation. And when you say something, it happens."

The centurion saw that he had a need. He recognized that he was unworthy. But he recognized the authority of Jesus, and that when Jesus says the word, He will keep His promise, because then Jesus’ reputation is at stake.

Now what you and I need to recognize is this: The centurion said to Jesus, "Say the word." Jesus has already said The Word to you. He has already said The Word. He has already made the promises. Those promises stand.

And now that The Word has been said, the reputation of our Savior is at stake. It is on the line.

You know, just think about this. Jesus didn’t make those promises to you in private. He didn’t make them to you secretly, somewhere where no one else could see them. Those promises have been made to you out in the broad daylight, in clear open terms.

Anyone in the whole world can pick up the Bible. They can be an unbeliever, a scoffer. They can see right there in the Bible, that God openly said, "I have called my people. I have kept my greatest promise to them. I have sent my Son, Jesus, to pay for all their sins. They are forgiven. Their sins are washed away. I love them dearly. I have called them to be my people, my dear people. Here are the promises that I have made to them. I have said The Word."

Now Jesus’ reputation is at stake. Do you think Jesus will not defend His reputation? Oh, Jesus WILL defend His reputation. When He has made a promise to His people, He will keep that promise, because He is a Man of authority. He has authority over all things in Heaven and on earth.

He will see to it, absolutely, that you will never suffer anything beyond what you can endure, because He has said The Word. He has said The Word. His reputation is at stake and He will defend His reputation.

Jesus will see to it, that everything works together for your good. He has said The Word. He has called you as His own. And now His reputation is at stake. And everything will, it will work together for your good.

We can say that about every promise that Jesus has made to His people.

So what about our faith? Are we creeping across that ice, wondering if Jesus will keep His promises to us? Or are we going across that ice in absolute confidence?

Faith comes to Jesus in a time of need.

Faith recognizes its own unworthiness.

Faith trusts, faith trusts.

Jesus has said The Word and

Jesus will defend His reputation.

Jesus will keep His promises.

Lord, give us such a faith as this!

Amen.

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