The Centurion Great Faith
Good Soldier
Being a soldier is a scary thing
You must give up your life
The Bible talks about all Christians being soldiers
No one is drafted into God’s army, it is all volunteer
Yet, when a person comes to Christ that person is to realize
You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
2 Timothy 2:3-5 tells us, Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs — he wants to please his commanding officer.
Ephesians 6:10-11 says, Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God…
We are to be disciplined soldiers ready to fight the good fight of faith
Maybe this is what Jesus saw in the Centurion Soldier and calls Great Faith
Good Soldier
We should take time to meditate on why Jesus said…
"I tell you the truth,
I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
We talk about faith all the time in the Christian world.
We have a lot of scriptures we can quote about faith.
But what did Jesus see in this Centurion Soldier
that Jesus wanted all Israel to see?
It was “Great Faith”.
We have to ask ourselves what did Jesus see?
Jesus saw a man who saw Jesus
through the eyes of a soldier.
I asked a man who had served in the army
as a young man…
What was it like to be a soldier?
He said, “My life was not my own”.
“24 hours a day, 7 days a week
I belonged to
The United States of America.”
When you are a soldier…
You are told what to do and when to do it.
When you enlist…
You are told to do things that are painful
and challenging as an order, not a request.
You are not given a thank you because you
have only done what was required of you.
You are conditioned to lay your
life down as an order, not a request…
Even to the point of the ultimate sacrifice.
You do it because others are counting on you,
fellow soldiers, your commanders and your country.
Being a soldier is not a light thing.
In the United States…
No one is forced to become a soldier.
Soldiers are volunteers.
But it was not always that way.
From 1940 until 1973,
during both peacetime and periods of conflict,
men were drafted to fill vacancies in the U.S. Armed Forces
that could not be filled through voluntary means.
Active conscription in the United States ended in 1973,
when the U.S. Armed Forces moved to an all-volunteer military.
I clearly remember the draft.
I grew up in fear.
I was a little guy that was
an easy target for bullies.
I lived a very sheltered life,
being raised by my mother with three siblings.
We lived in a 2-bedroom home
and the one bedroom had an arch way
next to a hallway, so it had no door.
We were too poor to have a car.
My mother did not learn to drive till
I was married and out of the house.
The draft terrified me.
I was a Christian and could not see me hurting anyone.
I thought of running to Canada.
Sandy and I got married in 1972
and my draft number was around 380.
A sure thing I would be drafted but…
Before I was called,
the draft stopped in 1973.
Being a soldier is a scary thing.
You must give up your life.
The Bible talks about all Christians being soldiers.
No one is drafted into God’s army…
It is all volunteer.
Yet, when a person comes to Christ
that person is to realize…
You are not your own;
you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
2 Timothy 2:3-5 tells us…
Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs —
he wants to please his commanding officer.
Ephesians 6:10-11 says…
Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Put on the full armor of God
A soldier can be called at a moment’s notice
to clean the latrine.
To do 50 push-ups.
Or, march in the scorching sun.
A soldier can be called to fight a battle at any time.
The soldier has given his life
and trust to his commanding officers.
It is trust, it is faith, to enlist as a solider.
If a solider does not obey or goes AWOL…
The soldier is considered as “breaking faith”…
He can be court-martialed
or put to death for treason.
Could it be Jesus wanted the Jews to see Great Faith comes…
As we see through the eyes of a soldier.
For I myself am a man under authority,
with soldiers under me.
Matthew 8:9
If you are like me…
You sometimes question the pain
and suffering in your life.
Knowing all the blessings,
and benefits of God…
We expect good.
If we are soldiers, we are under authority.
God knows our weaknesses
and allows personal pain in order to…
Make us humble and strengthen us.
He brings into our lives the things we need
to condition us to fight the good fight of faith.
And without warning…
He sends us into battle.
A battle, to rescue,
those oppressed by the devil and this world.
You and I think of enter the Kingdom of Heaven
as a place of righteousness, peace and joy…
But for this kingdom to come,
it will take soldiers.
From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing,
and forceful men lay hold of it.
Matthew 11:12
The Centurion Soldier understood what it was like
to be under authority.
The hard commands
and orders he faithfully obeyed also…
Meant those in authority would take care of his needs.
Who serves as a soldier at his own expense?
1 Corinthians 9:7
Maybe we, too, should see Jesus through the eyes
of being a soldier of the Kingdom of God.
Our lives are not our own anymore
we were bought with a price.
We are to be disciplined soldiers
ready to fight the good fight of faith.
Maybe this is what Jesus calls Great Faith.
Be a Good Soldier.
Scripture Reading
Matthew 8:5-13 NIV
5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."
7 Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."
8 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. 9 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."
10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 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. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.
Luke 7:1-10 NIV
When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." 6 So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 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."
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
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