[0:00] Amen. Please join me in Luke chapter number 7. I pray that the grace of God still amazes you today. And here in Luke chapter number 7, we are going to see of a faith of a centurion that amazed Jesus.
[0:15] You heard me right, that the faith of a centurion, Jesus said that it amazed him. And so we're going to see that today in Luke chapter number 7. I'm so glad to see that I left my Bible up here earlier because I was quite worried.
[0:28] And I was wondering how embarrassing it was going to be if I reached over here and opened up this pink Bible and had to preach from it today. So I was glad to see this is where the Bible was. Hope you'll have your Bible with you as well.
[0:38] Here in a moment, I'm going to read 17 verses. We're going to look at two miracles that happened. And if you've been following the last three months since I've become the pastor, we've been in less than a chapter and a half.
[0:51] Brother Austin having covered over 30 books of the Bible. And at the rate that I'm going, we would finish the Bible never. All right. And so now we're going to go to 17 verses. And it's not because I want to get through Luke quicker.
[1:03] It's because at the end of the second miracle, you see the response of the people. And that's what I want you to notice today is the response of, yes, Jesus is a compassionate.
[1:15] Yes, Jesus does miracles. But he was a man of authority. He is the son of God. And I don't want you to miss that because I would love to spend all day and many days to talk about the compassion of Jesus and talk about the miracles of Jesus.
[1:28] But if you only see him as a prophet, as it says here in this passage, then you're missing out. I'm going to ask Dylan to come up here. Dylan leaves the night for Chile. He will be there for six months.
[1:39] Glad doors opened up for him. And we're so excited for him. He's about to head out on a six-month internship. And Dylan, just get comfortable over there if you will, okay? And I'm here in a moment when I get done reading the 17 verses that I'm going to read to you.
[1:51] I'm going to have Dylan come up and pray for us today. And then after the service, if you'll stand with me out in the foyer, Dylan, people can come by, sign up for your newsletters. But we're really excited about him, so proud of him, just finishing his time in the training center but doing so well at it and working hard at it.
[2:08] We don't see him much because he's been serving at Forest Hills Baptist Church on the weekends and just doing a great job. And now we're excited that he's going to Chile with the Hope family for six months.
[2:20] And along those lines, the day at 4 o'clock, men, this is my only announcement for the day. At 4 o'clock, we're going to have the men's training union. We're going to meet here in the auditorium before our 5 o'clock service. 5 o'clock, we have what we call vision fraternity for the men in here and a ladies' fellowship in the other room.
[2:34] But at 4 o'clock, we're going to meet. And I really want some of the older men to join us because I'm going to ask people like Dylan and Ben Cherry and then other young men that are in the training center or not in the training center to just tell us where they're at in their lives and how we can pray for them and help them.
[2:49] Because how many of you recognize it's hard to keep up with all the coming and going around here, all right? Is Dylan coming or going from Chile? It's hard to know. Well, this meeting will help us help you know some of that information.
[3:01] So here on Luke chapter number 7, in Luke 6, we learned about the authority that Jesus had. And he talked about the kingdom, but now we are going to see it. And in Luke, the telling of the two stories are designed to help us and his original readers appreciate more fully who Jesus is.
[3:19] Jesus is going to Capernaum, Matthew chapter number 4. We learned that's where much of his ministry would happen, kind of as his hometown where so many of his home base would have been. But Jesus not only speaks with authority in Luke chapter number 6, but today he's going to demonstrate it.
[3:34] And so, Dylan, we get a good picture. You look very comfortable. You did it like I said, okay? And today we are going to look at a story of Jesus and we're going to see him better. And what we're praying for you, Dylan, is that when you go and you begin learning Spanish and wherever God takes you, you will use every word that you have, every part of your vocabulary to help people know and love Jesus better.
[3:58] In a world where people know a lot of things about Jesus, they're not seeing Jesus as he is. And I pray that through this passage of the day, all of us in here will see Jesus as he is.
[4:08] Luke chapter number 7, verses 1 through 17. And now when they had ended all his sayings, in the audience of the people he entered into Capernaum, and a certain centurion servant who was dear unto him was sick and ready to die.
[4:20] And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews. What a great statement, right? And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.
[4:31] And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this. For he loveth our nation and has built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them.
[4:42] And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter into my roof. Wherefore, neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
[4:56] For I also am a man under set authority, having under me soldiers, and saying to one, Go, and he goeth unto another, come, and he cometh unto my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him and turned him about.
[5:08] And he said unto the people that followed, 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. And it came to pass the day after that he went into a city called Nan.
[5:22] And many of the disciples went with him and much people. And now when he came an eye to the gate and to the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And much of the people of the city were with her.
[5:34] And the Lord saw her and had compassion on her and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and he touched the bearer. And they that had bear him stood still and said, Young man, I send thee a rise. And he that was dead sat up and began to speak, and he delivered him to his mother.
[5:49] And there came a fear on all. And they glorified God, saying that a great prophet has risen up among us, that God has visited his people. And this rumor of him went forth throughout all Judea and throughout all the region round about.
[6:03] Let's pray for us. Father, we love you. Thank you for allowing us all to be here this morning just to come together and to learn something from your word. I pray that we would be encouraged this morning, be with Pastor Trent as he expounds the truth of your word.
[6:19] I pray that our hearts would be attentive and tender to learn and grow from what you have for us this morning. And I pray that our faith would be strengthened from this example of the centurion and the stories that you've given us in your word.
[6:34] And so just be with this service now, Lord. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Dylan, we love you. We're proud of you. And I look forward to what God will do with you in Chile. Here in Luke chapter number 6, there's two stories.
[6:45] And for the sake of time, I'm going to make sure that you caught what was just read. If somebody ever asks you to be in a play and they say, we want you to play the role of the centurion, know that you won't have a part in the play, okay? The centurion never shows up here.
[6:56] And so the centurion, he lives in the piano. Let's say he lives over here. And he sent a group of people over to Jesus. And he says, the men came to Jesus and they said, this centurion is a nice guy.
[7:07] He has helped us with the synagogue. He's just a good man. He's even such a good man that he cares about his servant. Most centurions would not care about their servants. They would not care if they lived or died. But this centurion was a compassionate man.
[7:19] He appeared to be a God-fearing man. And he sent for Jesus. Now, Jesus hears about this and he heads that direction. And everybody would probably be amazed because there's a big division between Jewish people and the Gentile people.
[7:34] Is Jesus really going to go to the house of the centurion? Is he really going to go in there? We know later on in his ministry that this happens. But at this time, they're going to say, is Jesus really going to go into the home of a Gentile?
[7:45] And Jesus is on his way there. And before he gets to the house, the centurion sees him and he sends out a group of people to him. And he says, Jesus, I am not worthy for you to come underneath my roof.
[7:56] Remember the story before of everybody telling how great he was and how he is so worthy to be helped? The centurion said, I am not worthy that you would even come underneath my roof. And you, as I am a man under authority, I say something and it happens.
[8:10] Jesus, I know by your word my servant could be healed. And Jesus gives word. And then so there's Jesus and the people leave. And when they get to the centurion's house, the man is healed.
[8:21] And Jesus, by his word, had brought healing because Jesus has authority over disease and over life and over death and from his word. And many people reading this were probably curious, would Jesus have went into the Gentile's house?
[8:34] Because the Gentile, the centurion knew that if Jesus was to come into his house, he would have been considered unclean. And he would have to stop his ministry for a while as he would quarantine. Something that we know much about, right?
[8:46] A seven or ten day quarantine because he had been in contact with them. So if there was any wonder, would Jesus have went into the house of the centurion? We have another story. And here is a widow going down the road and her son is on a thing cut a burr, which is a thing that would carry either a casket, but in this case it was just a dead body that was wrapped.
[9:05] And there's Jesus and there's much weeping and the woman is sad about this. Obviously, it was not only her own, she's a widow now and this was her only son that is coming down the road.
[9:16] And Jesus comes and it says that he touched the burr. He touched the thing carrying the casket. Do you catch this, people, how wonderful it is? Did you have any wonder what if Jesus went into the house of the Gentile?
[9:30] Because Jesus can't be unclean. You cannot make him unclean. He did not need to touch the casket because he's going to tell the young man to get up in the rise because he has power over death.
[9:41] But just that act of compassion to say, I'm with you, lady. I am in this with you. And it's a beautiful story. And we see Jesus as a compassionate Savior.
[9:52] We see Jesus as a miracle worker. And that is so wonderful. But we must see more. Because it says in verse number 16, They were a great prophet that has risen among us and God has visited his people.
[10:07] That's what was said. If we had sound effects and this whole drama was playing out and a person stands up and they say, Jesus is a great prophet, all of us in the audience would say, oh no, you missed it.
[10:19] Not only has God visited, but that is God. Jesus is God. These people had an almost Jesus. They had an almost understanding of who he was.
[10:30] They saw that he was compassionate, that he was a miracle worker, but they missed who he was. You should be thankful that I'm short on time because I would love to tell you a long time on this story here. And I've been waiting for college football to tell you this story.
[10:42] Many years ago, thanks to a friend, I got to spend five hours with the football coach of Clemson. At the time, it was Tommy Bowden. And so me and him on an airplane. I had done all my research about Clemson football.
[10:56] I don't know much about football. I know enough to be beating Andrew Pearson in fantasy football this week. But other than that, I don't know enough about football to have a conversation, especially with a college football coach.
[11:07] I was so nervous about it. I thought I knew who this guy was. You know what I found in a short time? This man wanted to talk about Jesus. He wanted to talk about the Bible. He wanted to talk about his kids.
[11:18] And I thought, I know who you are, buddy. You're my brother. I've met you before. And I had a great time. But I had a misunderstanding of who he was. And because of that, I almost missed out on a special opportunity to have real fellowship.
[11:31] These people, they know some things about Jesus. And they know some true things about Jesus. But remember, it's the centurion's faith that's going to astonish Jesus and say, that's what you need.
[11:42] That's what I'm looking for here in this world. Jesus is being misunderstood. This group of guys said, hey, our friend over here, he's a really good guy. He's built us a synagogue. You're really going to like him.
[11:53] What they don't know about Jesus is, Jesus is not a respecter of person. He's going to show love and compassion, as he did on the widow who could have given him nothing. They didn't think that Jesus would go into the home of a Gentile man.
[12:06] And we're going to find that he does more than that. That he would have later on. Jesus needed to go. They're going to find out that Jesus didn't need to go to the home of the servant. The centurion knew that, but everybody else around him had not yet learned that.
[12:19] They're going to learn that Jesus is more than a prophet. He is the son of God. And so I want you to know in here, Jesus is more compassionate than you can even imagine. He said, if you have seen the Father, you have seen me.
[12:31] We shouldn't have been surprised in the life of Christ that we'd see compassion. Psalm 86, 15. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion and gracious, longsuffering, plenteous in mercy and truth. God is full of compassion, has been and will be for all eternity.
[12:44] Limitations 3, 22. It is the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. The first chance that we see God responding to the sin of man, He says that He is going to send the seed.
[13:00] His son is going to die, Genesis 3, 15, for the sin of man. Jesus was compassionate because Jesus is God and is full of compassion. Not just empathy that says, I can relate with you, but compassion that says, I will get involved.
[13:17] I will suffer. I will leave. I will not just like the centurion send for help. I will come and I will be help. Jesus Christ is compassion defined.
[13:28] When He finds His friends weeping at the grave of Lazarus, He weeps with them, but He acts. Jesus healed large crowds, but He also healed individuals. When He saw large crowds without a shepherd, He had compassion for them because they had false shepherds.
[13:43] The priests and the scribes were proud and they were corrupt, but He did not despise the common people or neglect them. When Jesus was moved with compassion. D.O. Moody set out to study about the time that Jesus went to a funeral and what was words, because that would make for a great funeral message.
[14:00] And he learned that every time Jesus went to a funeral, He broke it up. All right? He changed it completely because He overcame death, hell, and the grave. He had power over death. He has compassion with the centurion here.
[14:12] And it says, the centurion who is a loving and caring man, but when he heard of Jesus, a Jesus that cared about Gentiles, a Jesus who didn't care that he would be made physically unclean if he touched that casket, a Jesus that was willing to go into a house, a Jesus that would care about this man completely, then a compassion upon a widow.
[14:34] And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her. She was a woman without hope, a woman that had lost her only son. He was moved with compassion. She had nothing to repay Him.
[14:45] And He touched the casket even though he could be seen unclean. That small act of compassion. Compassion should be a distinctive mark of our lives. How can we say that the love of the Father is in us if it's not shown to our brother?
[14:58] 1 John 3, 17. We were made in the image of God, but by the fall, it's often now that that is not a distinctive mark of who we are. 1 John 4, 20. For believers, if a man say, I love God and hateth his brother, he is a liar.
[15:11] For he that loveth not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? The Bible is clear that compassion is an attribute of God and it should be of God's people. It is an attribute that He has given to us.
[15:24] In this book that we gave the parents today, there's a quote and it says, These gurus promised to teach you how to build self-esteem in your children. Have you noticed that no book promises to help produce children who esteem others?
[15:37] But there is a book. It's this book right here. It's the book that tells us about the life of Christ where we teach our kids to esteem others and to show compassion. But compassion is going to require action.
[15:48] And we see it. When describing Jesus' ministry in Acts 10, 38, it says, He went about doing good. Proverbs 31, 8 and 9, it says, Open thy mouth for the dumb and thy cause of all such are appointed unto destruction.
[16:00] Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. There is no form of compassion in the Bible that says you can click a button. There's no form of compassion in the Bible that says you can merely just make a small, in unsacrificial step and get involved.
[16:16] Compassion says, I will suffer with you. I will get involved and I will act in this way. And we cannot speak of the compassion of Jesus without speaking of the actions of Him willfully going to a cross and suffering in our place, whom God had set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past.
[16:39] Whose sins? My sin and your sin. Jesus Christ is compassionate. But He's more than that. He is a miracle worker. Remember, Luke 7, 10, He went into the house and when they went there, should they have been surprised?
[16:52] No, but they probably were that at His word they were healed. I don't know what it says when you try to do magic. Some of you would say abracadabra. Some of you would say bippity-boppity-boo.
[17:03] All right. Some of you might say kazam. Some of you might say ta-da. One person says whoop, there it is. I say, Greg, who says whoop, there it is? He says, I would if I did miracles. I'm like, well, good thing you don't do miracles, Greg.
[17:14] All right. And so there's all this gibberish and nonsense that we see that are given in stories about a magic and a miracle that will be done. It's gibberish.
[17:25] But you know that when Jesus does a miracle, He is bringing an emphasis to His word because He's not speaking gibberish. So He'll feed the 5,000 and then He'll preach a message on how He is the bread of life.
[17:38] He will raise a man that is lame and then He will say, I can forgive sins. If you believe that He can now walk, you should also believe that I can forgive sins. When He raised Lazarus from the dead, He says, I have the resurrection and the life.
[17:50] He that believeth in Me, though He were dead, He shall live. He calms the storm. He turns water into wine. He casts out demons into swine. And after He does this, people say, what manner of man is this that even the wind and sea obey?
[18:02] The miracles always have a purpose. And this is it. John 3, 2. Then the same came to Jesus by night and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God. No man could do these things, these miracles thou dost, except God be with Him.
[18:19] His miracles had a purpose. And it was to say that He is God. That He is the Lord of the universe. That you should submit your life to Him and that you should love Him.
[18:30] And you should not just see Him as a miracle worker and as an example of compassion, but He is the Lord. The results of the miracles we're talking about right now, and we'll look at in the weeks to come.
[18:41] Next week, Brother Ashley is here in spite of ministry Sunday. But in Luke chapter number 7, 18 and 19, and when the disciples of John showed Him all these things, when they told them all about the miracles that were done, verse 19, And John calling unto Him two of His disciples sent them to Jesus saying, Art thou He that should come, or look we for another?
[19:02] He was making the case that He is God. That He is the Lord of the universe. And at the beginning of His ministry, He confounds His disciples by leaving a town in which many people were seeking miracles.
[19:16] He says in Mark 1, 38, And He said unto them, Let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also, for therefore came I forth. They said, hey, we need more miracles. People want more miracles.
[19:26] He says, let's go to the next town. But it's because I came to preach the gospel. I'm letting people know who I am. Several Easter's ago, my daughter and niece were having a conversation about miracles.
[19:38] And I wrote it down. It pops up every now and then. And it reminds me. And my niece, she said, Jesus did not come to earth just to do miracles. He came here to go to the cross. But healing people is what Jesus would do on His way there.
[19:52] Jesus was so full of compassion that when He ran into a widow whose son had died, He brought healing to her. He was so filled with compassion that when He heard about the centurion's servant, He says, I'm on the way to the cross, and I want people to know that I am the Lord.
[20:06] And He brought healing. But many people recognized the compassion of Jesus and His ability to do miracles. But unlike the centurion, they did not recognize His authority. And any crowd in Luke chapter number 7 or in the Bible or any crowd in the world, even in the one that we would have today, there are going to be people that have differing views about Jesus.
[20:24] And to know that He is an example of compassion and that He is a miracle worker, He wants you to know more. He wants you to know that He is the Lord of the universe. John 7, 9, And when Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him.
[20:37] And He turned him about and said unto the people that followed, I say unto you, I have not found so great a faith, no, not even in Israel. And what was the faith? It was that the centurion said, At His word my servant can be healed.
[20:51] That Jesus has authority. That He is not just a prophet. He's not just a miracle worker. But God is among us. God is here. And it says that Jesus marveled at this.
[21:04] He had marveled because of their, they had marveled because of the belief. One other time up to this time, it said that Jesus had marveled. And what was He marveling at? Mark 6, 6, He marveled because of their unbelief.
[21:17] He was saying, How can you not know? After seeing all these things, how can you not know that I'm the Lord of the universe? How can you not know? And He marveled at their unbelief.
[21:28] Because here in the centurion, faith creates a humility as we recognize the authority of Jesus. In the same story, Matthew chapter number 8, verse 7, it says, And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
[21:42] And 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.
[21:53] Just speak the word. It's a humility. Faith will always demonstrate itself in humility. The recognition of the uniqueness of God's power and our unworthiness before it by trusting that He loves and cares for us.
[22:07] See, others haven't yet recognized it. Not others in Israel. They walked with Jesus, but they did not recognize His authority over all. They could only see Him as a good man.
[22:18] But the centurion saw through eyes of faith what the others did not see. Everybody spoke so highly of the centurion. He had built a synagogue. He has at least 100 guys that serve underneath Him.
[22:29] He cares about His servant. But when he came to Jesus, he says, I am not worthy that you would even come into my house. Because faith will bring a humility about you where you say, I am a sinner, and I am not worthy, and Jesus, you are holy, and I need you to forgive me of my sins.
[22:49] If you have never come to that place in your life where you realize you are not worthy and that you are a sinner and you are in need of forgiveness and that only He was good and only He is perfect, then you have never seen the Jesus of the Bible.
[23:03] And you will not spend eternity with the Jesus of the Bible because you saw an almost Jesus. Remember at the end of the chapter where it says this rumor continued and it went throughout the land? Well, that rumor goes throughout the Bible.
[23:14] And Peter, when they said, Who the men say that I am? It says, Some people say that you're a liar. Some people say that you're this. The rumor was going strong then. That rumor is raging today about Jesus.
[23:25] And it says, He's a good man, and He's a good example, and He's an example for morality in your life. And if you'll live more like Jesus, then you get to go to heaven. But that's not what saving faith is. That's not the type of faith the centurion had.
[23:38] The centurion said, I am a sinner, and you are a Savior. And I submit to you, and you are the Lord of the universe. The centurion saw through eyes of faith what others did not see.
[23:49] 1 Peter 3.22 Who is gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject on the hill. The centurion that day saw what others did not see, that Jesus had all authority over all things.
[24:03] They didn't recognize it. My kids have asked that I stop using them for so many sermon illustrations. So I have to dig a little deeper this week, okay? I want to read to you a story. It says, As I heard years ago about General Rainwright, Rainwright was one of our great American generals who was taken captive by the Japanese in World War II and held in a Japanese prison camp.
[24:22] And the Japanese soldiers loved to abuse him and to ridicule him and to taunt him, to humiliate him, because they knew that he was a great American general. And now they had authority over him, and he had been taken captive.
[24:33] But one day there came a little airplane and landed on that island where General Rainwright was held prisoner. And there went an envoy in and delivered a message, and it was said that the war was over, and the Allies had won, and that all of Japan had been defeated, and that Japan had surrendered, and that the base was now under control of the United States of America, and all the prisoners of war were now free men.
[24:55] As that general was rocking across that base, word had not got out to all of the men that had been keeping him hostage for all that time. And as he walked up to this little campfire, one of the men brought back his hand because he was going to hit General Rainwright, and he stood up with his shoulders and he said, Have you not heard?
[25:14] I am now the man with authority upon this base. I am now in charge. The authority had changed. Some people had recognized it, and other people had not recognized it.
[25:26] They thought they were in control, but that was not the case anymore. This centurion says, I may have a hundred people under me, and I may be a good man, but you are the Lord of the universe.
[25:37] You are the God of heaven. I'm going to submit my life to your authority. The Bible describes those of us who believe, those of us who are able to see by faith Jesus' authority in our lives, Ephesians 1, 19 through 22.
[25:50] And what is this exceeding greatness of the power to us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him on his own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion and to every name that is named only in this world, but also that which is to come and has put all things under his feet and gave to him the behead over all things to the church.
[26:16] Jesus Christ is the judge, ruler, and Lord of this universe. And faith is the determining factor in your eternal destiny. Not do you recognize that Jesus was compassionate.
[26:27] Not do you know that he did miracles, but do you recognize his authority? Luke chapter number 6 verse 20, it says, And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
[26:40] That humility that comes when you recognize his authority. Remember our centurion? Remember how he didn't believe that he was worthy for Jesus to come into his house? Do you know that centurion and I have reserved, we have received a dinner invitation?
[26:55] Let me read it to you in Revelation chapter number 19 verse 9, And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
[27:08] This man who came broken and said, Jesus, I do not belong. I am not worthy for you to even come into my house. The Lord of the universe, He says, I'm going to set a dinner table to help.
[27:19] And all of you that are broken and poor and unworthy, You're going to get to sit down with me and sup and eat with me. Isn't that incredible? And you can have that invitation today.
[27:31] But it doesn't come because you think Jesus is a good man. It doesn't come because you even recognize that he's done miracles. It doesn't come because you think he's a prophet. But it comes because you recognize that he has authority and he has claim upon your life.
[27:44] Not only those who recognize Jesus as a compassionate prophet, that in miracles, even the demons recognize that. Not of a person of a certain ethical or social class, because these two people in the story were not of the same one.
[27:56] But those that would recognize his authority, and that when they say that God has visited his people, they're saying that God has visited his people. God has been among us.
[28:07] You know, we live in a day of lawlessness and diminishing love for one another. Matthew 24, 12, And because iniquity shall abound, and the love of many shall wax cold. Here's the lie that's told to our teenagers, and it's also told to you.
[28:20] Tell us from freedom, from authority, would create a world of love. We don't need any authority. We just need to be love. There is no love without authority. The world would have us fall in love with the thoughts of autonomy and no authority in our life.
[28:34] And that's not just the lie of our teenagers. A life of faith, a life where you have the faith of the centurion, is a life that recognizes spiritual authority in Jesus Christ.
[28:45] Psalm 119, 54, Thy statutes have been my songs, and the house of my pilgrimage. If you love Jesus, you love his statutes. You love that he has something to say about how you live your life.
[28:58] You love that he is the Lord of your life. You're not looking to push him out of your life. You're looking to make sure that in every area of your life, God, open up my heart. In every closet, you have access. In every aspect of my life, you are the Lord of my life.
[29:12] I recognize your spiritual authority in my life. And I ask you, do you recognize and love the authority of Jesus Christ? Jesus marveled in that day because it was so rare for a centurion to recognize this.
[29:25] Is Jesus marveling today at your belief or your unbelief? If you've been in this building for any time at all and even been in here for the last 30 minutes and you do not recognize the spiritual authority of Jesus from his word and you're going to leave here and say, I think Jesus is just the prophet.
[29:44] I think he's just a good guy that set out an example for me to live. Then I marvel and Jesus would marvel at your unbelief. Recognize the Holy Spirit that brings conviction of your sin is telling you that Jesus is the Lord of the universe.
[29:58] You know, today as we started our service, we asked some parents to stand here and sign the letter of dedication. What was it they were dedicating? They were dedicating themselves to raise up a child.
[30:11] They made no saving decision for their child except to put their kids on their preaching of the gospel and to keep them around the Bible. At some point in all of their lives, Ezra, Elena, or any of the ones that were mentioned today, they were going to have to make a decision.
[30:28] And in Sunday school, we're going to tell them that Jesus is compassionate. And in Sunday school, they're going to learn about the miracles. And they're going to readily accept it as everybody does. And it's a wonderful story and it's a wonderful thing.
[30:41] But then they're going to be faced with the decision, who is the authority in my life? And they're going to recognize that Jesus deserves, is the Lord of their lives, or they're going to deny that.
[30:51] And they're going to say, he's just the prophet. And it was just a nice thing that he did. Don't let that be the case for you in here. Not just as a compassionate, miracle-working prophet, but as the Lord of the universe.
[31:04] And maybe as a child who participated, you in a similar service when you were younger, that you were dedicated as unto the Lord. But I ask you today, do you have the faith of the centurion?
[31:16] I would ask you to do that. Not on a piece of paper, like those parents did today. But I'm asking you in here to dedicate your life to the Lord and say, you are the Lord of the universe.
[31:28] You have complete control over my life. In every area, I recognize your greatness. Believer in here, the Lord of the universe, his compassion ought to be sown through us.
[31:39] We ought to be submitting our lives to looking more and more like him. He's compassionate. We should be compassionate. And what areas are you withholding from him? And in here today, if you're not a believer, you know what you may be?
[31:52] You may be friendly to the gospel. You may like the stories of Jesus. You may think that he's a good man and one that you'd want to be like. But I want to tell you, he came to earth because you can't be like him.
[32:03] He came to earth because we were so different than him that we had sinned against him. But he made a great exchange upon the cross where he died in my place and he died in your place. And because of that, if you'll have the faith of the centurion and you'll recognize him as the Lord of your life, he will save you today.
[32:20] And that would be wonderful. There's a decision for everyone to make in here today. Even if you're a believer, you need to ask yourself, has there been some error in your life that you've said this belongs to me and it doesn't belong underneath his lordship?
[32:32] I want you to place it back where it belongs. If you're not a believer in here today, the day is a day of salvation. And I'm going to give you opportunity to respond, I'm going to give you opportunity to acknowledge the fact that you're a sinner in need of a savior and find a safe place to talk to somebody about the word of God.
[32:48] Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, I ask that you would be right now with decisions that are being made. Lord, I believe that the Holy Spirit would work in the lives of my brothers and sisters and would say that he would lay his finger upon their heart and they would say this belongs to me.
[33:03] Whether it be a relationship or a decision that they have to make or a pattern in their lives, Lord, or whatever it may be, Lord, I pray that they would give it fully over to you today.
[33:14] And Lord, I pray right now for those in here who have not seen you as the savior. They have never seen themselves in need of a savior. They've only seen you as a good man. I pray that the day they would come to know you as the Lord and savior of their lives.
[33:28] And Father, I'm asking that you would do a work in hearts with every head bowed and every eye closed and the piano begins to play. Believer, would you make a decision? Respond to him. Come to an altar and say, God, you have 100% of my life.
[33:41] You are the Lord of my life. Make that decision today. Make sure that's true of you. Unbeliever in here, I'm pleading with you. Would you decide it here today that you are gonna recognize like the centurion that you're not worthy.
[33:56] You may be compassionate like the centurion. You may be a person who loves, that honors and thinks that God is good and that all these things are nice, but you've never humbled yourself and said you were not worthy of him and that he received salvation.
[34:11] And the biggest hindrance of the day would be simply pride in your heart. So what I'm gonna ask you, if that's your story in here today, and you do not know Jesus Christ as your savior, I'm gonna ask you that you would look to me and I'll give you some instructions here so that you could go to another room and hear the gospel message of Jesus Christ.
[34:29] Then my prayer that no one in here today would leave without knowing Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior. Father, as we continue in prayer, would you do the work that only you can do in the life of your believers?
[34:43] And those in here, Lord, that have not yet put their faith and trust in you, I pray that they would yield to the Holy Spirit's work in their lives.