 Today, we're in chapter 8 verses 5 through 13 as we're continuing a verse by verse study here in the Gospel of Matthew. So allow me to read to you Matthew chapter 8 beginning at verse 5 and what we're looking at is Jesus and a centurion. We're looking at godly authority, godly authority and we see that in the story that relates to Jesus as he has a relationship with this man who is called a centurion. We'll get into that in just a moment. Beginning at verse 5, reading to verse 13, Matthew chapter 8. Now, when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him pleading with him, saying, Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I'm not worthy that you should come under my roof, but only speak a word and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, go, and he goes, to another, come, and he comes. And to my servant, do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to those who followed assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel. And I say to you that many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then Jesus said to the centurion, go your way. And as you have believed, so let it be done for you. And his servant was healed that same hour. Now let me give you a context. Last time we were together, I mentioned to you that Jesus' ministry had tremendous impact. Jesus has been teaching, he's been preaching, he's been healing, cleansing lepers, he's delivering the demon possessed. And obviously that's resulted in great interest in him and crowds are beginning to gather together. We saw in Matthew chapter 4 verse 25 how Matthew had written great multitudes followed him from Galilee and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. As they saw his works, they heard his words, they were forced to make a decision. They were asking amongst themselves, just who is this man? And where did he get his authority from? Because Matthew 7.29 tells us he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. You see Jesus spoke in such a way that people would take note and they would listen carefully. He would say things clearly. He didn't craft his words to be admired by men. As a matter of fact, when the word of God is rightly divided, there'll be portions of Scripture that are so encouraging and uplifting. There are things that you'll read in your Bible that will cause you to say, oh, this is just great, it's just lovely, man, I love these promises God gives. And then there are other Scriptures that are difficult. You know, you read the Scripture, God so loves the world that he gave his only begotten son and you just rest in that for a moment and you say, you know, God loves me. And then you're reading through the Scriptures and it says, ye shall be hated by all men for my name's sake. And you say, boy, he doesn't like my wife very much. You know, so there's a full counsel that you get when you go through the Scriptures and all. And sometimes the word of God, sometimes when God's word is proclaimed, it's a moment of being uplifted. And then sometimes, even in the same message, it's a time when God's word seemed to crash upon you and you realize that there are things that you may do that he's not pleased with. In Jeremiah 23, verse 29, the question is asked, is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. And so the Lord may on one hand say, come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. And then on the other hand, he may say, depart from me, for I never knew you. And so the word of God goes forth as a surgeon's scalpel, bringing healing to that which is diseased and removing that which will kill you. And Jesus, when he spoke, spoke with authority and people would listen. You see, God's word is not something that is just to be considered with no repercussions for rejecting it. It is not to be proclaimed with the idea of pleasing people. God's word is intended to be proclaimed with the idea of people being transformed by God's word. And you have to be careful when you give forth the word of God that you don't try and craft it in such a way to make it appealing to people. You just need to teach it exactly as it is, present it exactly as it is. Paul, when he was writing to the Galatians in chapter 1, verse 10, said it like this. He said, obviously I'm not trying to be a people pleaser. No, I'm trying to please God. If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ's servant. So I'm not trying to please man, he said. I want to be pleasing to God. You see, when authority is exercised, the response will always be mixed. There are those who will hear what is being said. They'll weigh it out. They'll recognize it for what it is. They recognize it as the voice of God. It's like what Paul again said in 1 Thessalonians 2.13 when he said, for this reason we also thank God without ceasing because when you receive the word of God, which you heard from us, you welcomed it. Not as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. You didn't recognize it as man's word crafted and created by some man's imagination or some human philosophy and wisdom. You recognize it as God's word and it effectively works in you because you trust him. Well, others will hear the same thing, but they respond differently. Sometimes with indifference, sometimes with anger, sometimes with unbelief, simple rejection, authority often is challenged. And is often challenged by the one who rejects authority. Jesus' authority was challenged, especially by those who rejected him. And in his ministry, he clearly stated that his ministry authority came from his father. In John 14.10 he said, the words that I speak to you, I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does the works. Not all sought, but some did. And today we're going to be looking at somebody who recognized Jesus' authority. We're going to be looking at Jesus, the centurion, and Godly authority. Now as we look at this, beginning here in verse five, notice with me where he's at, it says, Jesus had entered Capernaum and a centurion came to him, pleading with him, saying, Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. Now as you read your Bible, you discover some things about the Lord. You discover that he was raised in the city of Nazareth. But after his baptism, Jesus moved to this city, a city called Capernaum. And Jesus established this city, Capernaum, as a base of his ministry operations. The Gospel of Luke tells us in chapter four, verse 31, that he came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and he taught them on the Sabbath days. Capernaum was Jesus' headquarters. It was also the home of some of his apostles. We know that the apostle Peter and James, Andrew, John, as well as Matthew all lived in the city of Capernaum. And so think for just a moment about that. Think that within this city, Jesus Christ was there and think with me that Jesus Christ was regularly teaching scriptures in that city. You would think that the city would have turned out in great numbers and had been transformed by the words that they would hear from Jesus Christ. You would think that it would have been a very holy, a very powerful, a very ministry-oriented place. After all, Jesus Christ himself was there teaching in the synagogue services. In Capernaum, Jesus taught many sermons, performed many works. It was in Capernaum that Jesus taught that he's the bread of life. It was in Capernaum that he taught his men that if they wanted to be first, they needed to be servants. It was in the city of Capernaum that he performed many of his works. He healed the nobleman's son. He raised Jairus' daughter from the dead. He delivered a demon-possessed man. He healed a paralytic that was lowered from a roof. He healed various illnesses. He healed Peter's mother-in-law. Some say that's the reason Peter later on denied knowing the Lord. I'm not sure if that's true. But it is worth thinking about, at least. Can you imagine what the city would have been like? Because it had the honor of Jesus Christ teaching from the synagogue there and living amongst the people. Instead of Capernaum being a center of godliness, Capernaum becomes famous as the city that rejected him. Now, the Bible tells us in John, chapter 1, verse 11, he came to his own. His own did not receive him. When the prophet Isaiah was writing concerning the future Messiah, writing concerning Jesus in Isaiah 53, verse 3, he said he is despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised. We did not esteem him. Capernaum, all of these works and all of these words, Jesus Messiah living amongst them all that time, his ministry headquarters being there in Capernaum. And yet they ultimately rejected him. And the result of the rejection, they received a curse. In Matthew 11, verse 23, the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to Capernaum said it like this. He said, and you, Capernaum, which are exalted to heaven, shall be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. So instead of it becoming a city that was well known for its godliness, Capernaum ultimately was a city well known for rejecting Jesus Christ. Well, Jesus is here in a city called Capernaum. And he's now about to minister to a Gentile soldier. Notice with me, Matthew chapter 8, verse 5, that it is a centurion who came to him. He was a military man, a centurion. Now, the reason that they were called centurions is real basic. The word century speaks of 100. A centurion was a Roman official, military official, who actually had command of 100 men. That's why they called him a centurion. More than likely, his rank would be equivalent to a captain in the US Army. This man is a centurion who approaches Jesus. And when you read your New Testament, you will see centurions mentioned very often. And what's interesting is that whenever they are mentioned in scripture, they are always mentioned positively because they were extraordinary men. Somebody wrote concerning their qualifications, the qualifications to become a centurion in this way. He said, they must be not so much seekers after danger as men who can command, steady in action and reliable. They ought not to be over anxious to rush into the fight. But when hard-pressed, they must be ready to hold their ground and die in their posts, the centurions. That this Roman centurion would be normally hated by the Jews because they were part of an occupying army. But this one was different. He actually was loved by various people there. As a matter of fact, Luke gives us more insight into this. And I want you to turn your Bibles with me to the Gospel of Luke for a moment. And let me show you something there found in Luke chapter seven. Luke chapter seven. Because he gives more insight, more detail that I want to use to highlight this man so I can show you what kind of man this was who was approaching the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us he came to Jesus. So what was he like? Luke chapter seven, verses two through six. What's gonna make this military man stand out? What can we learn from him that will help us? Well, then in Luke chapter seven, beginning at verse two, a certain centurion's servant who was dear to him was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, pleading with him to come and heal the servant. And when they came to Jesus, they begged him earnestly saying that the one for whom he should do this was worthy, for he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him saying to him, Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof. And so what do we see about him? Well, let me give you some basic things. And these are things we can learn. These are things that we ought to, as believers, say, God, I want to be like that. I want this kind of quality in my life. Obviously, the first thing I point to is the fact that he first came to Jesus Christ, that he was the one who came to Jesus Christ. That's quite obvious. If you want the Lord to work in your life, you come to him. But let's look at him and see some of his qualities. One, we notice that he's a man of compassion. This is a man of compassion. He cares about a servant. The word compassion, we use the word sometimes. We even throw it around, but we may not even know what the word actually means. But its definition is, the word compassion is what is called a compound word. It literally speaks of someone suffering together. When you have empathy, you have feelings for somebody else. When you have compassion, you suffer alongside of them. So this is somebody who is known for having compassion. He is a co-sufferer. There's something going on in his servant's life that is causing him pain alongside of this little servant. And so we know that this is a compassionate man. It's interesting that Matthew revealed that this servant was somebody that was a young child whom this man loved like his own child. The word servant in Matthew is a Greek word that means a young boy or a young child. And so this man, this centurion, had a father's love for a little boy. He had a father's love for a little servant whom he loved deeply. Luke told us in verse two that the little boy was dear to him. That word dear means held in honor, precious or prized. He loved this little guy like that little boy was his own. He had compassion. Anybody in this room who has had a friend who's been ill, a parent who's been ill, if you're a parent to yourself and you've had a child who's been very ill can relate to this man. When my daughter, Corinne, was less than a year old, she had a very high, very high temperature. And Marie and I took her to an emergency hospital. And we brought our baby in and her temp was well over a hundred. And as we brought her into the emergency room, the nurse there and the doctor saw the baby and prescribed medication, said this ought to bring her temperature down. But if it doesn't go down, it's dangerous for an infant to have a high temperature like this. You need to put her in ice water, cold water to bring the temp down. And so he said, okay. And they said monitor her and make sure that the temperature goes down as medicine that we're given should bring her temperature down. But if it doesn't come down within a certain amount of time, it's very dangerous. She's had a threshold, put her in the water. And so we monitored her. We brought her home and we're monitoring her and taking her temperature and her temp is not going down. And Marie says we have to put her in the ice water, the cold water. So I go into the room and I turn on the bathroom. I turn on the water for the tub and fill up the tub with cold water. And then we undress our baby, our little infant, and I hold her in my hands and I begin to place her in the water. And when her little warm skin hits the water, she begins to scream and begins to yell and cry. And she's trying to grab me. She's so tiny, she was just a little baby, but she's trying to get out. And you know what I did? I put her in the water and I climbed in with her because that's what dads do. That's what dads do. The pain that I was feeling was pain like she was feeling. Compassion. And I just climbed in that water with her and I held her there as she thrashed around and I just stayed in the water until her temperature came down. So did mine. But that's what you do. That's what anybody does who loves. And this man saw his servant, this little boy, that was so ill. Tormented, the scripture tells us in Matthew, he was in terrible pain and it touched this man, this soldier, this hardened veteran's heart. And he's sent for Jesus. You can do something, please. This is unusual because at this time, even to care about a slave was really unheard of. We've all heard of the name Aristotle. Aristotle was, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, one of the two greatest thinkers Greece ever produced. And this is what Aristotle wrote concerning slaves. Aristotle wrote, there can be no friendship nor justice toward inanimate things. Indeed, not even towards a horse or an ox, nor yet towards a slave as a slave. For master and slave have nothing in common. A slave is a living tool just as a tool is an inanimate slave. You have no dealings and nothing in common with slaves. They are like a hammer or a chisel. They are like a horse or an ox. There is no relationship that you have with a slave. That was Aristotle, one of the two greatest thinkers that Greece ever produced. And yet what we have here is we have a centurion who sees a little boy who is very ill and he has compassion for this little boy. He was paralyzed. He was in incredible pain and it caused his heart to sorrow for him, for he was dear to him. The Psalmist in Psalm 145 verse 8 says it like this, the Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. So we see that compassion is a beautiful thing to possess. A second thing that we see is that he was humble. Now, simply by the fact that he says, I'm not worthy that you should enter under my roof. That should be enough to show us that he's a very humble man. But this is a man who wielded the authority of Rome. And yet when you look at Luke, you see that he actually made contact with Jesus in stages. He didn't come at first himself. He actually sent the elders and others to be messengers. Matthew says that the centurion came to him but he abbreviated the incident. Luke makes it clear it happened in stages because in verse three it says when he heard about Jesus he sent elders to the Jews to him pleading with him to come and heal his servant. So he made contact with Jesus through Jewish elders. These were leading citizens. That showed great respect to the Lord Jesus Christ. That shows humility. So he's compassionate, respectful, humble. Proverbs 3.34 says surely he scorns the scornful but gives grace to the humble. A third thing that might not be obvious in this story is that he was anti, he was not anti-Semitic. He was not a hater of Jews. Luke reveals that he loved the Jewish nation. You know God had promised Abraham the father of the Jews that he would bless those who loved them. In Genesis 12.3 it says I will bless those who bless him who curses you and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed. This is a man who was not anti-Semitic. And anti-Semitism was in existence then and has been in existence for centuries before and centuries after anti-Semitism. Person who loves the Lord isn't gonna hate the Jew. I was given a Bible study just like this many years ago now and I mentioned that I as a young man back in 1975 I had gone to France and while in France I had gone to a location in Southern France called Lourdes and I had mentioned that I'd been there and was sharing some things about being in Lourdes. And at the end of the service I was talking to people and a man approached me and he says you were in Lourdes and I said yes. He goes I lived in Lourdes for a number of years. I said you did. He goes yeah. He goes I lived in Lourdes. He says the Jews own the town. And I said really? Then he laughs and he says to me I wouldn't be surprised if the Jews own the church too. And when he said that to me I smiled at him and I said oh. I said well let's see now. I said Jesus is a Jew. Jesus poured out his blood on the cross to purchase the church. You're right. A Jew owns the church. Indeed. Indeed. Anti-Semitism is not of the Lord at all. And this is a man who loved the Jewish nation. Not only that verse five tells us he respected the religion. He was what is called a God-fearer. God-fearers refer to those who would attach themselves to the religion of Israel Judaism but they were not fully converted. They would do many of the things but the Gentiles as a God-fearer would not receive circumcision. So this is a man who was uncircumcised. He's not fully converted into Judaism but he is a person who respects and honors the faith of Israel. Now he was a person who did not have a hatred of others nor did he have a hatred of others who practice other religious forms. It's not that there isn't something that is true and thus something that is false. But as a believer in God one of the things that I would think is very important for us to learn in that he loves our nation and he even built a synagogue for us. That's what they're saying about the Centurion. I really think it important for us to always respect people even when they have differing belief systems because factually before we were saved we had differing belief systems too. And God through his grace was able to reach us. So he had a friend of mine who when he came to faith in Jesus Christ decided that it was his obligation to argue with me about my religious affiliation at that time and was always putting down the fact that I was a Catholic. And so he would always throwing things at me to try and I think to win me to Christ but he didn't realize that in his belligerence towards what I thought was true he was causing me to defend all the more that what she felt was air. And even though I was not practicing that faith at all just the fact that he would try to argue with me and say things to me and put down the things that I believed at that time it was very difficult for me. And so I would argue with him because that's what he would do. And so I learned that though I do not agree with certain religious beliefs I do not believe what Islam teaches in any way shape or form. And though I don't believe what perhaps a Mormon teaches because it's an anti-Christian theology Jehovah's Witnesses I don't believe that but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't love and respect that person who holds it because that's a person Christ died for. And somebody asks me how do you minister to somebody from the Islamic faith or how do you minister to a Mormon for that matter or whatever in the same way that I minister to anybody I tell them the truth of Scripture and I love them for Jesus' sake. And I pray that God will touch their heart because that's how it works. In first Peter chapter three verse 15 the apostle said in your heart set apart Christ as Lord always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have but do this with gentleness and respect. See we live in a very angry society right now and people are angry about so many different things especially those who profess the love Jesus and we have a tendency of becoming argumentative even belligerent with those who don't agree with us. I think it very important for us to remember that we may very well have been belligerent ourselves to those who were saved and we weren't yet. We have to be careful as believers that we don't go out of the way to offend people and say things that are gonna cause them to be upset. I wanna speak the truth in love and I know the truth set you free and if we keep Jesus Christ in the center he has a way of drawing people unto himself. You see in Luke chapter seven verse six it says Jesus went with them and when he was already not far from the house the centurion said Lord do not trouble yourself I'm not worthy that you should come under my roof enter under my roof. Don't trouble yourself I'm not worthy. Now this is where Matthew picks up and so let's return to Matthew and I wanna develop this a little bit further with you for those of you who turn to Luke will return to Matthew and again Matthew had said in verse five that the centurion came pleading with Jesus so the need overwhelmed his hesitation to have Jesus heal the little boy and what does Jesus do verse seven immediately Matthew eight verse seven Jesus immediately responds I will come and heal him while he calls him Lord for the second time there and he says no I'm not worthy that you should come under my roof. Now I want you to see something when Jesus said I will come it indicates that he was willing to break a Jewish taboo. You see Jews would not ordinarily enter into the home of a Gentile because Gentile homes were not kosher and so when Jesus says I will come he's actually willing to break that particular ordinance. Jesus came though to minister to everyone not just to the Jewish nation. You see the invitation is for all who labor and are heavy laden which includes Gentiles. Isaiah 45 22 says look unto me and be saved all you ends of the earth for I am God and there is no other. Jesus wants to save everybody. That's why Jesus Christ after he was resurrected and he was commissioning the apostles said go into all the world and preach the gospel. See Christianity the Christian faith was not simply for Jerusalem or Judea or Samaria it was for the outermost parts of the earth. So take this message and teach people the fullness of it and bring them to faith in Christ. So that will include not only the Jew but it also includes the Gentiles and Jesus is saying I am ready to come and minister to you also because I have come to save others. Well the Centurion in verse eight says to him Lord I'm not worthy that you should come under my roof only speak a word and my servant will be healed for I also am a man under authority having soldiers under me I say to this one go he goes I say to another come and he comes to my servant do this and he does it. Now I want to develop this with you for a moment talking about godly authority. Only speak a word and my servant will be healed. Just give the order it will immediately be carried out. Psalm 107 verse 20 says he sent his word and healed them and delivered them from their destruction. Godly authority. My son Joseph was speaking to me it's been a year and a half, two years or so ago about this particular topic but he said to me this he said dad, he said you serve time in the military can you tell me what you gained from your time in the military that has helped you in your life and in your ministry can you tell me that? Cause I spent a couple of years in the army and so he asked me he said can you tell me how your time in the military has helped and shaped your life? I never really thought about it to be honest with you it wasn't something that I would think about it isn't something that I would wake up in the morning and say oh I do this because I was in the army I've never done that or anything like that. And so when he asked me that question it caused me to begin to think what is it that I would say I brought out of the military? Well I have to give you a context in order to help you to understand the point I'm gonna make in a moment and the context would be this I was a hippie when I got saved I was 20 years old I was totally rebellious I was one of these kids that you couldn't tell what to do no I wasn't violent and no I was sneaky and I wouldn't do what you told me to do I was a kid who would smile at you when you said could you do this and I'd oh yeah sure you'd walk away and I'd go I'm not gonna do that there's no way I'm gonna do that do it yourself that was how I was but I'd smile at you like that and so people didn't really know how sneaky I was and how rebellious I was I really was very very rebellious and so you know for years that's what I am now I'm saved and I don't ever want you to get the impression that David Rosales got saved at the age of 20 and then became Mr. Sanctified you know very know that it's taken years for me to actually change in a lot of areas so that gives hope to some so I'm in the army I hated the army I got saved man I wanna go to church now you've got me in the army you've got some guy telling me when to get up what to do how to dress when I can go home when I can't go home you're in complete control of me I hated that and when I went into the army let me give you a couple things this is important to actually develop so you'll understand what I'm trying to say when I went into the military I went through basic training we had a guy come who was from Airborne he was Airborne he's there with his little boots and his wings and the whole nine yards and no not wings on his back he had jump wings on his chest and then he comes in and he says if you go Airborne you make $55 a month more hazardous duty pay and we didn't make anything I mean we were making nothing at that time in the military nothing so $55 was a lot of money so I thought why not it'd be kind of fun so I went through jump training and I passed I got my jump wings I was assigned to the 82nd Airborne so I went into the Airborne I was permanent party with the 82nd with the 82nd quarter master corps which were the rigors they rigged the parachutes I didn't I was a driver I didn't want to go to rigor school but anyway I'm in my company now there's over 400 of us in one company 82nd is one of the most decorated divisions in the military and they're very proud of how they look we were all told you need to look strapped you need to make sure that your fatigues are starched that your hair is always cut that you're clean shaven and you because you're representing the 82nd and so when you go on the fort you will see all these guys wearing their fatigues and their starch nicely their shoes are spit-shined so when you look at them the boots you can see your face in them and that's what the 82nd's all about except for me I wouldn't cut my hair I didn't shave when I took my clothes to wash I would put them in a sack and just dump them inside of a drawer and they were all bunched up so the collar was all twisted I was wrinkles everywhere I never shine my shoes I started growing a goatee and I'd put a bandage over it so you couldn't see it and I'd take it up you know later on totally rebellious totally rebellious and one day I was walking by in the mess hall we have the mess is divided into the enlisted men and the sergeants and officers and so the sergeants and officers will lead in one side and there's a doorway and then the rest of us will lead on the other and I was walking by where the officers and all were and when Captain Daniel says Rosales now how did he know me there's over 400 guys but he calls me by name Rosales and I stop and I walk in in yes sir he says to the men the sergeants and lieutenants he said this is what I'm talking about and he points me out this is what I'm talking about look at this man look at his wrinkles look at his shoes look at Rosales you're getting a haircut today you go and he just chews me out now why did I tell you that my son asked me where did you bring home from the military and you want to know I'll tell you an appreciation for a chain of command that was one of the things I learned in the military that that man Captain Daniels was a company commander who was underneath the general commander who was underneath underneath underneath all the way to the commander in chief and I learned that I as a spec 4 that's what my rank was as a spec 4 was under the authority of an E5 spec 5 and everything up and I had to learn that even though I thought I knew more and I was better and this and that that when an order was given to me I had to follow it because if I didn't I found this out I'd be picking up trash after five o'clock for a week because I was rebellious I can tell you stories I won't tell you anymore but I was rebellious I was rebellious and the Lord over the time I was in the service began to teach me to be a manager authority so when my son asked me dad what did you learn by being in the military one of the things I learned is that you follow orders when it's given to you you understand the chain of command and in scripture there is a chain of command God himself is our highest authority and God's son Jesus Christ who was submitted to the will of the father came and did all that the father said to do and God is placed into the church a variety of those who carry spiritual authority but all authority is derived from God in the church and thus we need to pursue God understand scripture as its authority is communicated to us as well as what biblical authority is and when I learned that I began to be able to see God bless in my life this man said I too am a man under authority how did he know that Jesus was under authority how do you know that because a man under authority can always recognize another man who's under authority you know my my law enforcement personnel understand this my military veterans in an act of duty you understand this but a lot of us well we just don't because you know why would I do what you say I I don't even stop at stop signs if I don't feel like it hey it's only six thirty there's nobody in the neighborhood I can blow through it what fifty five sixty five those are suggestions that's not the law no you turns well you know what he's here who's in it right I mean that's right that's right as long as no one's watching me and then what happens when they pull you over I didn't mean to I've never done it before lie you lie so that to me really is impressive because he saw something Christ listen I'll tell you something and I apply it to me I apply it to me do not trust a man who is not under authority I am under authority I'm under God's authority but I also have a council of men that I work with that I'm under authority I'm under the authority of my board I am a man under authority because I understand authority because a man who's not under authority will do whatever he feels like doing and he will destroy lives he will destroy lives be careful be careful that you do not follow somebody who is not willing to be corrected who is not willing oh no God told me and therefore no no be careful because and I'm telling you that listen I've been in ministry a long time I've been in pastoring this church over 34 years and I can tell you that I can tell you you have to be under authority you have to put yourself under the the word of God the spirit of God and men who love you and love Jesus enough to tell you the truth because you can start thinking that you're doing something God wants you to do when in reality you're going the opposite direction and you have to be willing to hear somebody who comes and says listen I love you and I'm telling you I'm concerned with where you're going right now you have to be willing to hear that because if you're not you're dangerous Jesus was under authority he was under the authority uh... of his father in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 7 speaking of the Messiah it reads then said I lo I come in the volume of the book it is written of me to do thy will oh god and so as such he did not work independently of his father you see satan's kingdom rejects the authority of God satan's kingdom rejects all authority satan's followers do the same satan's followers reject authority and they exalt their own will above the Lord now jesus was so obviously submitted to his father that the centurion knew that he had proper authority so servants hear the voice of the Lord by first knowing his word and then putting them into practice in Hebrews 13 verse 17 it says obey your spiritual leaders do what they say their work is to watch over your souls and they know they are accountable to God give them reason to do this joyfully and not with sorrow that would certainly not be for your benefit and so when jesus hears this notice verse 10 he marveled and said to those who followed assuredly I say to you I have not found such great faith not even in Israel and I say to you that many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth then jesus said to the centurion go your way and as you have believed so let it be done for you and his servant was healed that same hour now notice with me in verse 10 when jesus heard it he marveled it's interesting that jesus is recorded as marveling only twice in scripture he marvels at the faith of a Gentile a Gentile who in the nation of Israel is actually used as a premier example of what true faith is and jesus says it I haven't seen this kind of faith from my Jewish brethren this Gentile has faith that they don't possess and he marvels at that but there's a second time scripture uses the word marvel as jesus is speaking of of something and that's found in mark chapter 6 verses 5 and 6 where it says he could do no mighty work there except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them and he marveled because of their unbelief he actually marvels at people who will not come to him so they can have relief he marvels at them how could you not see this again you're in Capernaum you're in the city of Capernaum where Jesus will teach on the Sabbath where people know it's the headquarters of this man Jesus Christ they've already begun hearing the stories of the healings the works that he's done the cleansing of lepers the man who was a paralytic who was lowered down from a roof a man that they all knew there in Capernaum who was able to be healed by the Lord not only healed but jesus also forgave him of his sins and they've heard of these stories they already know and yet jesus over and over and over again ministers and people say oh you know show me something new something better and he marvels he marvels at unbelief at the resistance of people that just come to him he marvels at that he could do only a few works because people wouldn't come he could only do a few things because they wouldn't waste their time coming you guys remember when you were first saved I don't know if you were anything like me perhaps you weren't when I first got saved and I came out of drugs and alcohol I was crazy God has been working on me for almost 45 years now I was crazy I can tell you stories somebody would say there's a party in Whittier Bang, we're in Whittier there's a party in we're over there wherever it is and then I get saved and now they're saying there's a bible study in La Habra there's a bible study in Costa Mesa and what I used to do when I would party which was let's go I started doing that with the bible and bible studies my friends I started to hang around with Christians they began to influence me and they helped me in my early days especially to get solid maybe something like that maybe some of you were the same way there's a bible study man time to worship Jesus Christ yes guess what happens you get older you get married you can have your children you get new schedules you got things you got to do you become selective and that fire that at one time drove you against the go-out I've known people in this fellowship who were single they met here served the Lord together here got married here and over time kind of like lost their fire because they want to build up the marriage and their children and what brought them together didn't remain the center of the relationship become disciplined stay on fire for Christ when you have an opportunity to get solid studies even like tonight with Tony take advantage of it instead of complaining about what the world is like and the world right now is like a cesspool world right now and we know it is going to hell in a handbasket we are watching a nation that at one time was it used to be called the light shining on a hill and it's decaying in front of us and there are young people I just spoke in between services with somebody who said to bring a child up in this world right now is a very brave and dangerous thing to do because the world that our infants are inheriting so different than what I grew up in what my mom grew up in my mom used to say to me David I can't believe what I've seen in my lifetime what has happened here things that at one time were so shameful you wouldn't even speak about are now put in newspapers and made into movies it was so shameful you wouldn't even speak about it but now you have you know men like Bruce Jenner doing the things that he's doing where people applaud him and give him award and that poor man needs counseling because he's really messed up and our hearts ought to be sad for this man instead of applauding you see that statement just gets the younger people right now not necessarily the older ones the younger ones that's what's wrong with you old dinosaurs you don't no I haven't been perverted by this age and you are and that's the problem because I see that for what it is and you don't because you've been brainwashed by teachers from the time you were five years old I think that's okay and it's not it's tragic and if you had this man talk to this man and let him be real for just a moment tell you listen Bruce how do you really feel about life he would tell you I'm in pain but we award that to the minister to it you see we have an answer guys we have an answer and if Bruce came to Jesus Christ his life would be changed I believe that with all of my heart so no I'm not a hater towards Bruce Jenner my heart goes out to men like Bruce Jenner and women who are confused because what the church has been called to do is to love Jesus love one another and tell the truth tell the truth love him for Christ's sake and there was a time when some of you in this room were on fire for Jesus that fire has gone down well today's the day for you to reignite it today's the day for you to say you know what lord that's true I've allowed myself to get lulled into sleep I want to wake up because I want you to work in my life because lord I want to have the kind of faith that this gentle hand who he loved this little boy so much he couldn't bear his pain any longer and he came to you and he said you can do it just give the word he will be healed and that's the fervency of faith that God wants the church to have today I'm not hopeless and I'm not helpless I believe that God wants to do a work and I believe he wants to raise up a generation of young people to take this gospel further because he's not through with us yet there's still hope right now guys let's hold fast to the gospel of Jesus Christ hold fast and don't let go don't let go the enemy thinks he's winning no I read the last page of the book he loses Jesus Christ wins and we win in him keep your eyes on the Lord