CHURCH
LUTHERAN
Our Savior's of Elderon
8th PENTECOST 2016 INI Luke 7:1-10
“Lord, my servant is lying t home, paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” It wasn’t unusual for Jesus to hear such a request. Many had come to him for healing. But this request came from a centurion, an officer in the Roman army. The centurion continues; “Only speak a word and my servant will be healed.” He didn’t say, come and heal him, but only speak a word. The centurion had to have a strong faith in order to make such a request. Jesus knew this and that’s why he said; “As you have believed so let it be done to you.”
Jesus had granted similar requests on other occasions. For example; when he touched the eyes of the two blind men he said; “According to your faith, let it be to you.” On another occasion to the Canaanite woman whose daughter was demon possessed he said; “O woman, great is your faith, let it be to you as your desire.” David says of the Lord in Psalm 145; “He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him.” These examples teach us that God is pleased when people believe in him. Jesus himself said; “He that believes and is baptized will be saved. But he who does not believe will be condemned.”
Because God will judge us according to the faith in our hearts it’s important to have a true faith; a faith that rests not on a perishable uncertain foundation, but on Jesus Christ the solid rock. So the question today is:
DO YOU HAVE THE FAITH THAT BLESSES?
As we study the Word of God we have before us this morning the (1) first thing we learn is that the faith that blesses clings to the Word of God. Jesus tells us here that faith came from a very unusual source, a centurion. Now the centurion wasn’t a Jew, he was a Gentile, an officer in the Roman army. It was unusual to find such a person with faith because most of them were heathens, unbelievers.
How this man came to faith in Jesus we don’t know. But we do see from our text that he really and truly believed in Jesus as the Son of God. That’s why he pleaded with Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus then offered to come and heal him. But the centurion felt unworthy of Jesus coming to his house. So he said; “Only say the Word and my servant will be healed.”
This man took Jesus at his word. He knew Jesus didn’t have to be physically present to heal his servant. All he had to do was speak the word and his will would be done. The centurion said; “For I also am a man of authority, having soldiers under me; and I say to this one go and he goes and to another one come and he comes; and to my servant do this and he does it.” Truly his faith clung to the Word of God.
Mary is another example of such a faith. When the angel told her she was going to have a baby even though she was a virgin and she was to give him the name Jesus, she didn’t doubt. She simply said “let it be to me according to your will.”
In order for you and I to have such a faith we must first acknowledge our own sinfulness and unworthiness. Our Catechism teaches us; “It is necessary to have a true knowledge of sin because faith in the Savior arises only in the heart that has been driven to despair of its own righteousness.” Paul writes in second Corinthians; “Godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation.” David is another example. He committed adultery and murder. When Nathan the prophet confronted David about his sin he repented of his sin as we learn from Psalm 32.
You and I will not appreciate God’s Word and all he does for us until we see and acknowledge our sin. Until we admit we have sinned and deserve only death and punishment. However, when through the Holy Spirit we come to acknowledge our sin, only then will we be concerned about the faith that blesses, namely the faith that clings to the Word of God. Only through such a faith do we receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
The centurion thought only of his unworthiness. He thought nothing of his works or his position in the Roman army. In faith he humbly came to Jesus for help. We can learn from his example; learn to be humble. Peter wrote: “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
You and I were born in sin and we live in sin every day. There isn’t one day in our lives when we don’t sin. Even all of our good works are tainted with sin. Because of this we need to do what David did; confess our sins to God.
Our Catechism says; “We need true faith in Jesus Christ because only faith in him justifies and saves.” In the book of Acts we are told; “There is no salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
But now what is true faith in Christ? True faith in Christ is this; that I a lost and condemned sinner, know Jesus as my only Savior from sin, death and the devil and that trust with all my heart in him alone. The book of Hebrews offers this brief description of faith; “ Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see.”
True faith clings to the Word of God and builds on that Word alone. The centurion relied on the truth and power of God’s Word. He wanted nothing else to base his faith on. And the Lord praised him saying; “Assuredly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.”
God’s Word is to be sufficient for us as well. Unfortunately many people aren’t satisfied with the Word. They want something more or something else to base their faith on. Matthews Gospel tells us that the Jews wanted a sign from heaven but Jesus told them; “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.” Because the Jews would not believe his word Jesus pronounced them an evil and adulterous generation.
So it is today. Many people are not willing to believe in all simplicity the Word of God alone. Instead they want some other sign of God’s grace. Some want to be blessed in worldly affairs before they believe; others want some sort of joyous feeling for a sign of conversion. But notice what the Centurion said; “Speak the Word only.” He didn’t need a sign, the Word of God was sufficient.
Faith, if it’s a true faith, builds on the Word of God and nothing else. Faith believes without seeing, faith demands no signs and wonders. Our works are as nothing and our feelings and experiences are more changeable than the weather. And even if we could see a hundred signs with our eyes or hear the voices of angels with our ears, all this could not be as certain as God’s Word. My prayer for each of you is that you have the faith that blesses.
However, the faith that blesses not only clings to the Word of God, it also looks forward to heaven. We are told; “Many will come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” Those who sit at the great feast will be those who have a faith live Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Take Abraham for example. Abraham believed God and the word he spoke to him. God told Abraham to take his son Isaac and go to the region of Moriah. There Abraham was to offer his son as a burned offering. Abraham didn’t question God. He simply did as God told him. In the book of Hebrews we read: “By faith, Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him; it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. Abraham reasoned that God could raise him up, even from the dead.”
Such was the faith of Abraham. Do we have a faith that would trust God’s Word like that? We can learn from Abraham, we can learn to trust God and take him at his Word. And then with such a faith we will be at that great feast in heaven.
But how do we get such a faith? This faith comes only from the Word of God. Bible says; “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” The faith that blesses does not come from signs or senses. Our eyes and ears may deceive us but God’s Word doesn’t. It is certain and does not fail.
The lesson we need to take home with us today is; take God at His Word, trust in that Word alone. Only from the Word of God can we receive the faith that blesses, the faith that lives in anticipation of the great feast in heaven. As Christians we are in this world but we are not of the world. Our hopes, our thoughts and our faith looks to heaven. As Christians we look to the Word of God and the great feast. We know we are only in this world for a short time and all the pain and suffering of this world will someday pass away. Someday it will be all over and we will be with the Lord in heaven forevermore.
Yes, the faith that blesses looks forward to heaven. What a comfort the Word of God is to us. What a comfort to know our sins are forgiven because of the suffering and death of our Savior Jesus Christ. This same Savior who rescued us from sin and death will continue to care for us and guide us to our heavenly home.
As he does so he strengthens us so we can fight off temptation as he guides us in the truth. He turns away many evils and turns many evils into blessings. He comforts us in our afflictions and by a blessed death brings us to the great feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all who had the faith that blesses. There he will: “Wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
What joy, what a blessing to know that through faith we will be at the great feast and all the pain and sorrow of this world will be gone, like a dream past and forgotten. We will know only peace and joy forevermore.
I pray that as you leave here today you do so knowing that the faith that blesses clings to Christ as our Savior. It clings to his Word alone; this only by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Word. In Ephesians chpt. 2 we are told: “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, so no one can boast.”
I pray that each of you will seek to grow in your faith by studying God’s Word and by frequent use of the Sacrament. So cling to the Word of Christ, and look forward to heaven. Amen.Faith that blesses
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