Good morning and welcome. It's really great to have you join with us.
It's great to be able to welcome old friends and new friends to hear God's Word and to worship together.
Just a reminder for those of us who are regular parts of the church, there's digital tea and coffee at 12.
You can find the details of who's hosting through the email or on Elvanto.
Also, let me give you a special invitation to come back this evening at 5.30.
As we used to do when we met physically, we are having a Buclue family praise evening.
And that's going to be possible to watch and share together on Zoom.
So it'll be on YouTube, but we can watch it together and interact together.
And again, the details of that are on the email.
So please do, if you can, make an effort to tune in and share that together.
Our call to worship this morning, it comes from Psalm 57.
It comes from King David.
King David, who was running for his life and hiding in a cave.
I cry out to God most high, to God who vindicates me.
He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me.
God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.
Faith cries out in need.
And we do so in the hope and the knowledge that God hears.
The God of love and faithfulness hears us when we pray.
So we meet in his presence together, wherever you are.
Now, let's hear in God's words.
Let's hear Matthew chapter 8, verses 5 to 13.
And we'll think about faith here in the story of a Roman centurion.
Matthew chapter 8 from verse 5.
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him asking for help.
Lord, he said, my servant lies at home paralysed, suffering terribly.
Jesus said to him, shall I come and heal him?
The centurion replied, Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.
But just say the word and my servant will be healed.
For 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.
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
I say to you that many will come from the east and the west
and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then Jesus said to the centurion, go, let it be done just as you believed it would.
And his servant was healed at that moment.
So we're continuing to think about what is faith.
And today, it's seeing faith as recognition.
And also seeing that faith brings reward.
Now, I was thinking this week about a visit that we made to a classroom
where 30 primary ones, including our own, were all present and correct.
And I remember being amazed and, to be honest, in awe of the teacher
who had this quiet but calm voice of authority
that with certain words and with certain gestures,
she could calm a rabble.
And I guess many of us as parents, we wish we had that.
The voice of authority.
Words that carry weight.
Do you know that person?
You think about sort of different workplace settings.
Think about classrooms that you've been in.
Perhaps in your family, you know someone with the voice of authority.
Today, we're reading about a Roman soldier with a significant amount of authority
working for the most powerful emperor in the world.
But he is somebody who, with his level of authority,
recognises a greater authority,
recognises the absolute authority of Jesus
and especially the authority of Jesus' words.
Now, we see a man who recognises the authority,
the glory of Jesus,
who acts on that
and who then receives reward for his faith.
And so as we look at this story briefly,
we're going to see both the comfort and the challenge
that we find in the authority of Jesus.
So let's begin with recognition.
Faith recognises the authority of Jesus.
If you tuned in last week,
you might remember that we were thinking about the faith of a leper.
Well, now here in this story of the Roman soldier,
we find another religious and social outsider who has faith.
He is part of the occupying army.
To most Israelites, he is the enemy.
His task was to keep the people down,
to enforce Roman rule and to keep them in order.
But he's not your typical centurion.
You read your history books,
you find centurions who dealt with oppressed people harshly.
But this man shows respect.
He comes to Jesus asking for help and he says,
Lord.
He also shows his own weakness,
a powerful man,
but he comes looking for help.
And he comes looking for help for a servant who is suffering.
He cares for someone who is under him,
who is much lower in status than him.
He reminds us in this,
that faith recognises our inability,
our need and looks to Jesus for help,
looks to Jesus for salvation.
So having come for help,
having explained the situation,
Jesus then asks a surprising question.
Verse seven,
shall I come and heal him?
Reminds me of when a blind man came to Jesus looking for help
and Jesus said to him,
what is it that you would have me to do?
Here is Jesus drawing out the centurion's faith,
making it absolutely clear that Jesus and Jesus alone must be the object
and the foundation of any faith that hopes to stand and have strength.
And having been asked to show his faith,
we are given to see what the Roman soldier recognises about Jesus.
We see the faith of this soldier.
So he began talking about how the Roman Empire's structure
and particularly his understanding of the army and its authority structure.
So the way it worked,
the emperor was top dog
and he would issue commands and orders to the commanders.
And then those would filter down to the centurions
who would then pass those on to the everyday soldiers.
So as the centurion looks at this,
he understands he's under authority
and then to those below the centurion,
he becomes the voice of Rome.
He becomes the voice of the emperor.
So he is to be obeyed on the basis,
not of his own authority,
but on the authority of the emperor.
So he applies all this logic to Jesus
and he understands
Jesus outranks him.
Jesus outranks the emperor.
And as a result of that,
we find a man who is humble.
Did you notice in verse eight,
he said,
I don't deserve to have you come under my roof
because of Jesus' far superior and ultimate authority.
But he knows this.
He knows that Jesus speaks.
When Jesus speaks,
God speaks.
Because Jesus has the authority of God.
And if Jesus speaks into the need of his servant,
healing will come.
So he has faith that recognises the authority of Jesus.
At this point,
let me ask you the question.
Have you come to recognise Jesus' authority over your life?
Consider the next couple of minutes a spiritual eye test
to check how is your vision.
First question to ask is this one.
Do you see that you need Jesus?
Here, this Roman centurion who is powerful,
who is no doubt wealthy,
who has a degree of social status,
he comes with humility.
He comes to Jesus as king,
appealing for help and for mercy.
For you and me today,
do we see that we need Jesus?
Do we recognise that the guilt and sin in our lives,
do we recognise that without Jesus,
we stand under God's just judgement,
that without Jesus,
we are spiritually dead
and that we are enemies of God.
So we need Jesus to forgive us
and to set us free.
Do you recognise that you need Jesus
to change your status,
to move you from being spiritually dead
to having spiritual life?
It's a move from being an enemy
to becoming a child of God.
Do you appreciate that you need Jesus
if you are to grow in love for God and others,
if you are to grow in obedience to God
as we are called to do?
We can't do that on our own strength.
We need Jesus,
the spirit of Jesus in us
to help us to grow in that.
As we become aware of our weakness,
do we see that we need Jesus
as our source of strength,
the one person that will never fail,
leave or disappoint us?
In our fear and anxiety,
do we see our need of Jesus
to bring true and lasting hope
and peace and deliverance?
Do you see that you need Jesus?
Do you see also Jesus' authority
over your life?
When we read through the pages of the Bible,
we discover that we are made by God
in the image of God
and in the New Testament,
we discover that Jesus
is God's agent of creation.
He is the son of God,
so he is actively involved
in creating the world and creating us.
Jesus is our Lord and our King.
Whether we recognise that or not,
whether we are glad to hear that or not,
doesn't change that reality.
So that we actually have a duty to believe.
We have a duty to follow Jesus.
When we hear the gospel
that tells us that we are sinful
and that we need a saviour
and Jesus has come to be that saviour
and through his life and death and resurrection,
the way to peace with God
has been opened up to us.
We have a duty to believe,
to put our faith in Jesus.
You know, the centurion
could have stood on the sidelines
and said, well,
Jesus, faith in Jesus,
that's for them,
that's for the religious folks,
but it's not for me.
But he doesn't do that
and nor should we.
The centurion could have said,
well, look at my past.
I've done terrible things as a soldier
and I've hurt people
and I've been cruel,
but he doesn't do that.
Knowing his past,
he still comes to Jesus in faith
and so should we.
He could have said,
well, in relative terms,
I'm a nobody
and Jesus has every right
to just walk on by.
But he has faith.
When we understand
that God is all powerful
and all knowing,
it teaches us
that there can be no little people,
that everybody matters,
that your obedience matters to Jesus.
So do you see Jesus' authority
over your life?
And one last question
before we move on.
Do you seek mercy for others
from Jesus as Lord?
This is interesting, isn't it?
The centurion doesn't come for himself.
He comes for his servant.
He wants mercy for somebody
he cares about.
Faith leads us to pray for others.
As we find mercy from God ourselves,
we want others to enjoy that.
As we come to know the love of God in Jesus,
we want that for others.
And so we pray and we share.
Knowing that Jesus is strong and kind,
we ask that he would reveal himself
in that way to others also.
And we're going to do that in a few minutes.
We'll pray for others.
So there's recognition.
Faith recognises the authority of Jesus.
But we also find in this passage,
in this story,
reward.
That faith brings rewards from Jesus.
In verse 10,
we find another surprising statement,
this time a statement about Jesus.
When Jesus heard the centurion's words,
we're told in verse 10,
he was amazed.
Here is a reminder
reminder that Jesus is fully God,
but he's also fully human.
He became one of us.
And as such,
he has a full range of human emotions.
And as such,
he is amazed.
Now,
why is he amazed?
He's amazed because I've not found anyone in Israel
with such great faith,
he says.
So,
Israel,
the people who had the Old Testament part of the Bible,
who had God's promises,
who God had entered into a covenant relationship with,
they had the whole story of God's salvation.
But they didn't have faith like the centurion.
This outsider had great faith.
Maybe he didn't know much,
but he saw Jesus,
and he trusted.
That's really important for you and me today to understand.
It's not how much you and I know.
Christianity is not based on knowledge.
The key thing is,
what are you doing
with what you know about Jesus?
If you know
that he is God's son,
that he is
your saviour,
the saviour that you need,
if you know that he died on the cross to save sinners,
and you know that you're a sinner,
then
believe that,
act on it,
respond
in
faith.
So we're thinking about reward.
One reward
that we see
is that Jesus brings
present help.
If we go to our last verse,
verse 13,
Jesus said to the centurion,
go,
let it be done
just as you believed it would.
And his servant was healed
at that moment.
The centurion has faith,
and his servant is healed
instantly
with
a word.
Jesus brings
the authority
of God
in his words.
This is
the same Jesus
who spoke
and stilled
a storm.
This is Jesus
who spoke
and caused evil spirits
to depart.
This is
the same Jesus
who spoke
and raised
the dead.
His words
have authority,
so he brings
the authority
of God
and he brings
the love
of God
to bear
in this situation,
in this crisis.
and isn't this
our greatest need
today
and every day
in every situation
to have
God's authority
and love
come to bear
on our lives
and so we
pray
for ourselves
and for others.
So one reward
is that we enjoy
the help
of God
in the present,
just like the centurion.
But another reward
is that Jesus
here promises
future reward
to those
with faith.
There's a popular
interview question
maybe when
a newspaper
or a magazine
is interviewing
a celebrity
to get to know
a little bit more
about them.
Sometimes even
in job interviews
the question is asked
if you can invite
three people
to a dinner party
either dead
or alive
who would you
choose
and why?
Psychologists
love that kind of story
that he's going
revealing.
Who would we
choose
to share
a meal with?
For a religious
Jew
in Jesus'
day
in a sense
that was an
easy question
to answer.
Who would they
choose?
Abraham,
Isaac and
Jacob.
Why choose
them?
Because if you're
eating a meal
with Abraham,
Isaac and
Jacob
it's a sign
that you are
enjoying the
promised feast
in the kingdom
of God.
It is the sign
that you have
entered into
glory.
That you are
enjoying life
in the presence
of God
enjoying all
the blessing
that he had
always promised
to his
people.
Now Jesus
is going to
take this
and he's going
to provide
amazing comfort
thinking about
the feast
of God
but he's also
going to provide
a shocking
challenge.
He's going
to say to
all his
hearers
that there
are important
lessons to
learn about
faith and
about the
authority of
Jesus.
In verse
11
Jesus says
with his
authority I
say to you
that many
will come
from the
east and
west and
will take
their places
at the feast
with Abraham,
Isaac and
Jacob in the
kingdom of
heaven.
There's a
surprising
guest list.
People from
all the
corners of
the globe
will be
part of
God's
kingdom.
God's
grace opens
up the
invitation,
removes the
barriers that
had previously
been there
by making
clear that
the only
qualification
is faith
in Jesus.
The centurion
stands as
proof for us
that all we
need is
faith in
Jesus.
faith in
God's
kingdom.
So whoever
you are
today, one
of the
wonderful
things about
technology is
that it
connects us
in different
places and
with different
stories and
with different
backgrounds.
Whoever you
are today,
wherever you
are, whatever
your story,
there is a
promise that
if you
believe on
the Lord
Jesus, you
will be
saved.
No
qualifications on
that.
Believe in
who Jesus
is and
what he
has done
and you
will find
forgiveness.
You will
receive new
life from
God and
with God.
You will
have the
promise of
entry into
the world
we all
want, a
glorious world
without sickness
and pain and
disease and
suffering and
death, a
place of love
and joy and
peace that
lasts forever.
forever.
You will
find entry
into the
life that
you were
made for
and all
you need
to do
is believe.
But just
as there is
that wonderful
comfort that's
open to us
today, there
is also a
challenge in
Jesus' words.
Addressed
particularly to
the self-reliant
and the
religious,
Jesus said,
the subjects
of the kingdom
will be thrown
outside into
the darkness
darkness,
where there
will be
weeping and
gnashing of
teeth.
They will
find themselves
not on the
inside, but
thrown out of
the feast and
on the outside
eternally.
Theirs will
be loneliness
and not
fellowship with
God and his
people.
Their experience
will be darkness
and not light.
It will be
untold horror
and not
wonderful joy.
It will be
judgment
and not
reward.
This is the
king's
loving
warning.
Your
future
depends on
your response
to Jesus,
who is your
king.
Respond with
faith and
you can look
forward to that
wonderful feast.
But respond
with unbelief.
and face the
certain prospect
of eternal
judgment.
You and I
want happiness.
Blaise Pascal
said that we
are motivated
in everything
by a desire
for pleasure
and happiness.
And even in
the midst of
COVID-19
and the
lockdown,
we see that.
For some,
there has been
a return to
simple pleasures.
So this week,
beginning of the
week when it
was nice and
sunny,
we took a walk
through the
weeds as we
happened to
do and we
gave the
boys a chance
to paddle in
the stream.
And as we
carried on
on our way,
we saw family
after family
doing exactly
the same thing.
So we're
returning to
simple pleasures.
Others are
finding creative
new hobbies,
finding pleasure
and skill in
learning new
musical instruments
or taking up
art or crafts
or something
like that.
But then
there are
others who
are feeling
robbed of
pleasure,
who are
feeling grief
and sadness
and loss.
for all of
us, there
is one
question of
huge importance
and it's
this, how
can you and
I, made
for happiness,
be truly
happy?
How can we
find a joy
that will last
and that will
not fail?
And this
is found
in Jesus.
Jesus
promises
and he has
the authority
to promise
eternal
happiness.
If you
will see
his glory
today,
glory as
God's son
and as
God's promised
saviour,
if you will
listen to
his invitation
to come
to him,
if you're
weary,
if you're
burdened,
come to
him for
forgiveness
and new
life,
if you
will put
your trust
in him
as Lord,
then you
can know
a happiness
that lasts
forever.
Faith
recognises
the authority
of Jesus
and faith
is rewarded
with knowing
he is there
to help
you now
and he
promises
this wonderful
eternal
future.