Quality Over Quantity: Are You a Person of Great Faith? – Life Is a Journey, part 21
Got faith? More importantly, got great faith? This message reminds us that we don’t need a lot of faith, but we do need quality, exceptional faith. We need faith that believes in God’s authority.
Through this series, you’ll learn how to live well & enjoy God's promises. You are loved by God; He knows your name. He has a plan for your life. Get helpful advice, encouragement, and hope for a life well lived in 2021 and beyond.
Are you walking in faith and victory? Set your eyes on the promises of God. You only have one life journey; say yes to Jesus. Like the parables of the buried treasure and the valuable pearl, stop at nothing to gain your entry into the kingdom of heaven.
What’s the quality of your faith? Are you a person of great faith?
What kind of faith amazes Jesus?
Today I want to focus on a person of great faith. In Matthew, we learn of a servant who was suffering from paralysis and in terrible pain.
We don’t have much information on the servant, but we do know some things about the servant’s boss—a Roman centurion; he was a Gentile. He was not a Jew, yet we see Jesus was astonished by this Gentile’s faith.
‘When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” 7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come 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 amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, 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! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment’ (Matthew 8:5-13, NIV).
Jesus said the centurion’s faith was great faith. This Gentile, not a Jew, went to Jesus and displayed great faith. This story about Jesus healing someone is one of only a few times in the bible we read about:
The one needing healing was nowhere near Jesus.
Jesus never touched the one who was healed.
Jesus offered to go and heal the servant. The centurion knew he was personally undeserving and asked that Jesus simply speak the word and, the centurion believed, his servant would be healed. Jesus was amazed at the man’s faith and his understanding of Jesus’ authority, power, and ability without any doubts.
Jesus acknowledged such great faith could not even be found in Israel. If there were anyone who should have great faith in God, it should have been an Israelite. A person of God. A descendent of Abraham. But sadly, no. The person who displayed great faith happened to be a Gentile. Someone who was born outside the covenant of God. A selfless, humble, compassionate person who looks past obstacles and to Jesus’ authority because of who Jesus is: the Son of God.
In verses 5-9, we see the centurion’s encounter with Jesus.
In verses 10-12, we find Jesus gives us a spiritual teaching moment. A teaching regarding those who will attend a banquet to be held in the kingdom of heaven. A banquet, first thought to be only for those of the covenant of God (the Jew), but is now open to all who will believe.
In verse 13, we learn of the healing and blessing of faith.
There are no underdogs or outcasts with Jesus
I want to acknowledge that the Roman centurion, a Gentile, would have been an outcast in relation to the Jewish people and God’s covenant.
Church, no one is an outcast with Jesus. It is your faith in Jesus that gives you access to Jesus. It is your faith in Jesus, in his person and in his authority, ability and power, that activates childlike—great—faith.
It is here, in these verses, that we learn the confession of the centurion’s faith, both in Jesus’ ability and in his authority to heal. Here we learn the centurion was very much aware of what authority entails. He was a man who exhibited authority over others and who was also under the authority of those over him. As a Roman centurion, Caesar was considered the ultimate authority in the world. And yet this centurion looked to Jesus and his authority to heal his servant, not Caesar.
This Roman centurion was certainly considered to be an outcast according to the religious Jew. Politically, religiously, socially, and in many other ways he might have been considered an outcast. But not by Jesus.
The centurion might have been despised, hated, spiritually condemned, and considered to be living in spiritual darkness by most Jews. But not by Jesus. Jesus recognized his genuine faith.
The religious and pious Jews were all looking for a Messiah who would deliver them from the political bondage of the Roman ruling class. They were looking for a national and physical deliverance and were spiritually blind to who Jesus was (being the Son of God) and blind to his sovereign authority and power over sickness, demons, and all things.
Jesus came to deliver the sinner, the spiritually oppressed individuals, the spiritually lost from the spiritual bondage of sin and death. Jew and Gentile alike. Jesus came so that whosoever might believe would be saved.
The religious pride of the Jew blinded them spiritually and, over time, their hearts became spiritually hardened to the truth of God. In scripture, we can read how some recognized that Jesus taught the scriptures with authority, and yet most never recognized Jesus to be the Son of God.
Spiritual and national pride along with the hatred for those outside the covenant of God drove the Jews further away from God.
Do you have a sure faith in Jesus?
It is here, in verses 5-13 that we find a stark contrast between humility and pride; between Jew and Gentile; selflessness and selfishness; master and servant; authority and submission to service; along with faith.
Roman centurions were men who were battle tested. They would die before retreating to safety. They had ultimate power and authority over their men. They would follow orders at all costs. Roman centurions were disciplined and expected nothing less from their men.
Several centurions are mentioned in scripture, and they were all men of honor. This centurion is no different and yet his actions and attitude towards his servant and Jesus was much different than most people of his day.
Servants were considered property. Servants were like objects that might be discarded like a broken tool. A slave was no better than a useful tool. The servant / slave had no rights, and an owner or master could treat them as awful as they liked. The owner had the power of life or death over the slave. The only difference between a slave, a work animal, or a tool was that the slave could speak. If a slave became ill or too weak to work, one could sell, trade or allow the servant to simply die and the owner would have no second thoughts.
As we consider this story, I want you to first notice that the centurion went to Jesus for help. He sought Jesus to heal his servant. He displayed compassion for his servant.
Centurions did not normally need help, but this one did. His servant was at home and in pain.
For many, it will take a need or some difficult situation for them to turn to Jesus.
We find that this centurion had a heart of compassion and cared for his servant. He also had a regard of his own unworthiness: for Jesus to come into his home and heal his servant, he felt undeserving.
The centurion may have known that Jews were not allowed to eat or enter a Gentile’s home, so he tells Jesus that it was not necessary for him to go to his home; instead, he asks Jesus to just speak the word and his servant would be healed.
He may have considered that a person like Jesus, a person of such authority, usually didn’t lower themselves to a modest home or establishment, but that wouldn’t have mattered to Jesus. Jesus was willing to go and heal the servant without even being asked.
The centurion had a high regard for authority. He recognized true authority. He knew that true authority extends way beyond the presence of the one who has the authority. He knew in his heart that Jesus’s authority was not limited to a particular location.
Words matter. And once the person of authority speaks, it’s as good as done. This centurion had no preconceived ideas of Jesus needing to touch or be near a person for them to be healed. Jesus’ words alone were all that was needed. This man had simple faith. He had a sure conviction of faith. He had faith in Jesus’s ability, authority, and word to heal his servant, and there was no need to doubt or worry.
The centurion had an expectation, without reservation, that his servant would be healed because Jesus’ authority came from God, who is the supreme authority over all.
Do you understand the power and authority of Jesus?
When you pray, do you realize Jesus has all authority under heaven? When you pray in Jesus’ name you are praying using the name that is above all other names.
“at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
Do you understand the power and authority that is in the name of Jesus?
The word of God is powerful.
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:3).
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
In the Gospel of John, we read: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).
The promises of God are sure.
‘For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God’ (2 Corinthians 1:20).
In 2 Kings 5 is the story of Naaman. Naaman had leprosy and he went to Elisha to be healed. Naaman expected Elisha to do something spectacular and he would be healed, but Elisha simply told him to dip seven times in the Jordan River and he would be healed. Naaman had a preconceived idea of what Elisha might do to heal him. Naaman’s lack of respect for the authority and power in Elisha’s words almost caused him to not be healed. It was Naaman’s servant that caused Naaman to reconsider doing what Elisha told him to do.
‘Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”’ (2 Kings 5:13).
Had Naaman refused to do what Elisha told him to do, Naaman never would have been healed.
Friends, the authority in Jesus’ name is powerful.
The centurion’s faith in the power and authority of Jesus’ word was witnessed by Jesus and was declared to be great faith:
A type of faith not found in Israel.
A faith of vast quality.
A faith in Jesus’ authority and power.
Expectant faith.
Simple, childlike faith.
Faith without doubts.
Faith without concerns or limits.
Great faith does not mean that you have a large amount of faith. Jesus said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” (Luke 17:6).
It’s not the quantity, but the quality of faith that matters.
Faith in Christ has a goal, and it is more than healing. It is salvation.
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).
The faith of this Gentile centurion was the reason Jesus said many will come from the east and west to sit down with Abraham at the banquet table in heaven. It is by faith that Jew and Gentile alike will enter heaven’s glory.
It is faith in Jesus, and in who he is, and in his authority that you are saved.
Jesus warns that there will be some sons of the kingdom, referring to Jews, who will be cast into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. There will be some who believe they are spiritually OK, but who lack faith in Jesus. It will be those, who live void of faith, who will be cast into outer darkness.
However, whoever has faith to believe in the power and authority of Jesus will be rewarded.
Jesus ends with saying “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would” (Matthew 8:13). And the servant was healed that same hour.
What about you?
What do you believe? What faith do you have?
All you need is faith the size of a mustard seed. Faith in the authority and power of Jesus’ name. Childlike faith and the expectation to believe and not doubt. It matters not who you were. It matters not where you come from.
What matters is faith in Christ. Be a person of great faith. Pray and believe in the power and authority of Christ and it will be done as you believe it will.
Do you have a need today? Pray, believing in the authority and power in Jesus’ name. Pray with childlike faith. Pray with great expectation. Pray and do not doubt.
Suggested Praise and Worship
YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED
If this message has been helpful to you, we’d be grateful for your support. A small gift of $5 can help us reach our goal of helping people grow in faith, heal, laugh, and thrive—both locally and globally. It’s because of people like you that this ministry can offer hope, help, encouragement, and a closer walk in faith with God.
This and other sermons brought to you by Faith Chapel, an Assemblies of God church in Pleasanton, CA.
Matthew 13:44-46: What does your forever—your eternity—look like? As hard as it is to imagine, God has already promised us a priceless, personal treasure. All we have to do is say yes to Jesus and He will help us get there.