 Luke chapter 7 let's begin reading together at verse 1 incidentally I said all of that because Craig really hates American Idol and And he's listening to me right now, and I'm just kind of rubbing it in on him It's kind of a private thing, but you can now be in on that So ask him to dance for you and he'll do the splits. He's very good, but anyway Beginning at verse 1 Luke chapter 7 beginning at verse 1 and reading to verse 10 now when he Concluded all his sayings in the hearing of the people he entered Capernaum and 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 to the Jews to him pleading with him to come and heal his servant And when they came to Jesus they begged him earnestly saying that the one for whom? 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 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to you But say the word and my servant will be healed for I also am a man placed under authority Having soldiers under me and I say to one go and he goes into another come and he comes and to my servant Do this and he does it When Jesus heard these things he marveled at him and turned around and said to the crowd that followed him I say to you I have not found such great faith not even in Israel and Those who were sent returning to the house found the servant well who had been sick Jesus Finishes his teaching that he's doing there on the plane and now moves on Into the city of Capernaum and as you look at your map of Israel Capernaum is a city on the coast of the Sea of Galilee up to the north and so that's where Jesus began to live after he had left and Nazareth according to Matthew chapter 4 verse 13 while he's there in the city of Capernaum He has an opportunity and not opportunity to minister on behalf of a Roman soldier this Roman soldier that's being spoken of in this passage is Referred to in verse 2 as a centurion Now a centurion is an individual who is equal to what we in the in the army would refer to as a sergeant major He's not a an officer He's what would we we would call a non-commissioned officer, but a high-ranking non-commissioned officer and he is called a centurion because he commands 100 men or a century that's why he's referred to as a centurion Interestingly enough whenever you see centurions mentioned in scripture It is always in a positive light and you can see that in various places for example in Matthew 27 verse 54 There's a centurion there who was present at the cross when Jesus Christ died and the Bible says in Matthew 2754 when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened They feared greatly saying truly this was the Son of God, and so you see him in a positive light there There's another centurion mentioned in the book of Acts chapter 10 verse 32 a man by the name of Cornelius and He's referred to as Cornelius the centurion and described as a just man one who fears God and has a good Reputation among all the nations of the Jews and so centurions when I when they are mentioned in scripture are mentioned in a Good light now a centurion was an extraordinary man of great character and in order to be a centurion he needed to have He needed to be able to To be a man who was Above a notch above the average person and the qualifications to be a centurion were fairly strict One writer says 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 at their post That's what the centurions were like now during the time of Jesus the Jews hated centurions because they were part of an occupying army But this is a man who was different This is a man that actually was loved by the nation of Israel and and you're gonna see some things about him as we look At this passage before us. I want you to notice here in verse 2 how it says a certain centurion's Servant who was dear to him was sick and ready to die That gives to us some insight from the very beginning because the first thing I want to point out about this centurion is he's a man of compassion This is a man who actually had a father's love for a servant You'll see this in a moment But you need to know that at this time for a centurion to actually care about a servant was highly unusual One of the greatest thinkers according to the encyclopedia Britannica that Greece ever produced was a man by the name of Aristotle who lived 384 years before Christ and This is something that Aristotle wrote and this was what he wrote concerning slaves He said there can be neither friendship nor justice towards 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 There was no Relationship between a man and his servant that was just the way it was during the time of Christ But this is a man who actually had compassion and concern this gives to us some insight into him He actually had a love for this one who was referred to as his servant now When it says a certain centurion's servant who was dear to him was sick and ready to die All we need to do is cross-reference this with Matthew's account of the same story and you get some insight If you take notes Matthew chapter 8 verse 6 Because there it says my servant is lying at home paralyzed dreadfully tormented When you look up the word servant in the original language He gives you some insight because the word servant there in Matthew chapter 8 verse 6 is the word paese And that in the Greek language speaks of a young child. This is a young boy And so this is a little boy who is paralyzed and in incredible pain That's the picture. That's what's taking place. It's a young child And this is a little boy that this centurion loved as if it was his own little boy So it shows you his great compassion That's why it said in verse 2 here in chapter 7 the centurion's servant who was dear to him He had a tremendous love for him when it says he was dear to him that word dear speaks of that which is precious or prized This was a little boy that was precious to him the way that any dad in this room any mama in this room can think of your child If you had a little boy and how precious that little guy is to you or I as a grandfather as well as a father My children are all extremely precious very dear very valuable to me And now my grandson Josiah is very very valuable very precious to me and that's the picture here This is a guy who was not an unfeeling man. This man was not lacking in compassion He wasn't like the average man of his day who had a slave This was a guy who had a slave who was a little boy and this little boy was extremely Deared to him and he loved him like he was his own son. He held him in honor He was precious to him. He prized him and he loved him very very much And it says that he was very sick and he was ready to die And so as he's hearing about Jesus being around notice verse 3 He's he's in the area when he heard about Jesus Well, he sent the elders of the Jews to him pleading with him to come up and heal his servant So he hears that Jesus is in town and and immediately what he wants to do is he wants to have Jesus come in and Minister he wants this little guy to be healed and and and he is Concerned for him is so great that he actually sends people to go and get the Lord Jesus Christ to bring him to To touch this little guy notice it says that he sent elders of the Jews to him pleading with him to come That gives us a second insight into this man. Not only is he compassionate, but he's also a humble man remember a Centurion was part of an invading army that dominated the Jews and Still even though he was there as the power of Rome Yet he contacts Jesus and at first and when you look at Luke and you compare it to Matthew You see that he actually contacts Jesus in stages by sending some Jewish elders who are Leading citizens of the city. He initially makes contact with Jesus Now imagine any high-powered official doing something like that today with humility Actually sending somebody else to go and speak to Jesus. It just doesn't work that way not in our society But but then it did he had a humility of spirit and and though he was a powerful man yet. He didn't want to Go on his own. He wanted to send representatives for him didn't even want to make initial contact Which gives us insight because Proverbs chapter 3 verse 34 says that God scorns the scornful But gives grace to the humble and it gives us insight into how the Lord Jesus Christ is about to respond And so what happens? Well, it says in verse verse 4 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 it's built us a synagogue Well, the third thing we see about him is he's deeply religious Compassionate humble deeply religious. He's a generous man using his money to build them a synagogue Now during this time Rome encouraged religion among the people its armies occupied That's because religion generally kept people in order and and made them easier to control One writer by the name of Gibbons said the various modes of religion which prevailed in the Roman world We're all considered by the people as equally true by the philosopher as equally false and by the magistrate as equally Useful and so religion was normally just a useful thing that people of his position Would would you know would view it as it was something that kept kept the people under control But not in the case of this centurion in the case of this centurion his face with faith was real And it was expressed in tangible ways in his particular case. He actually from his own finances Funded the building of a synagogue so that the Jews could gather together and worship and interestingly enough This is more than likely the same synagogue that Jesus himself would speak in Mark in chapter 1 verse 21 makes reference to that it said they went into Capernaum and Immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught Undoubtedly it's the same synagogue that this man had funded This is a synagogue that he had built and Jesus would use it so he could go in and he could teach And so he's a deeply religious man and as a deeply religious man He was it he was a very generous man, and he put his faith into action by building that synagogue well in verse 5 it says that he loves our nation and So as a result of his faith in God we see a fourth thing and that is that he had a love for the Jewish people Notice they said that he loves our nation Now that was interesting because during that time the Jews hated Gentiles and Gentiles hated the Jews Romans called Jews a filthy race Holding to barbaric superstitions They said Jews hated mankind and even went so far as to on at least one occasion say that they worshiped a Donkeys donkey's head. I mean there were people the Romans did not respect the Jews whatsoever And yet this man's faith the centurion's faith has produced something a love for the nation of Israel And why is that important? Well, it's important because a servant of God is not a hater of other people a Servant of God is not a hater of other people How do you? When you're in conversation with somebody about your faith How do you treat other people? How do you how do you treat? We'll say a Muslim or how do you treat a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness or Somebody of a different faith. How do you do that? You know some people look at them as simply enemies Is that how we're supposed to do it? No as Christians were respectful respectful of people Even if we reject the religion We are still respectful towards them and this is a man who was unusual because during his day Well the Gentiles hated the Jews the Romans hated the Jews and the Jews hated the Romans But not this man and and that's why it's it's important for us to notice verse 5 how it says he loves our nation You know in Genesis in the first book of the Bible chapter 12 verse 3 God said I will bless those who bless you and curse him who curses you and in you Shall all the families of the earth be blessed? God Puts in our heart a love for people in general and a love for the nation of Israel When we've been in Israel there have been more than one There's been more than one opportunity for me as I've been teaching Bible studies To share with the people that prior to coming to Christ I had absolutely no love for the nation of Israel never even thought of it Frankly never even thought of the nation of Israel. Why would I do that? It wasn't part of my life It wasn't something I ever thought about But as I've shared very many various times when we've been in Israel You know were I not a Christian? I probably still wouldn't care about Israel or I would be antagonistic towards it Because overwhelmingly the world hates Israel overwhelmingly All you need to do is read your newspaper and read some of the accounts in Israel generally is blamed for all the ill of the world outside of the United States But the bottom line is as I've shared with the people there and I've told my Jewish guides So the reason that we love Israel is because we love Israel's Messiah We love Israel because we're in love with Jesus Christ and that's transformed our lives And that's given us a love for a little country that we normally wouldn't even give a second thought Well, this centurion's faith had produced the love for the nation of Israel and it's being pointed out And so that's what they're saying they say again in verses four and five They beg him earnestly saying that the one for whom he should do this was worthy for he loves our nation He's built a synagogue verse 6 then Jesus went with him 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 Therefore, I did not even think myself worthy to come to you But say the word and my servant will be healed for I also am a man placed under authority Having soldiers under me and I say to one go and he goes into another come and he comes to my servant do this and He does it Well initially upon hearing that Jesus is coming. He sends messengers to intercept him Then he personally comes and speaks to Jesus Christ and when he speaks to Jesus I want you to see this in Matthew chapter 8 verses 5 and 6 It says a centurion came to him pleading with him saying Lord my servant is lying at home paralyzed Dreadfully tormented and so he came pleading with him the need Overwhelms his hesitation and so Jesus's response according to Matthew 8 7 is that Jesus said I will come and heal him Now when Jesus said I will come it indicates He's willing to break a Jewish taboo because Jews would not ordinarily enter into the house of a Gentile Because a Gentile did not keep kosher and so a Jew would not enter into a non-kosher home on under normal Circumstances, that's why in Acts chapter 10 again when when the Apostle Peter was ministering to a man by the name of Cornelius in Acts 10 28 Cornelius being that centurion I mentioned earlier Peter had said to him You know that it is an unlawful thing for a man who was a Jew to keep company or come to one of another nation I don't go to another person's house I don't walk into a non-kosher home because if I come into contact as I do will when I walk into that Non-kosher home with anything that I am rendered unclean and so under normal circumstances A Jew would not enter into a non kosher environment and yet Jesus is saying I'm gonna go there And I will minister and that's why he says here in in chapter 7 verse 6 the second portion Lord Don't trouble yourself. I'm not worthy that you should do this I'm not worthy that you should come under my roof Don't do that. You don't need to do that. I didn't even think myself worthy to come to you But say the word and my servant will be healed His response give an order And it'll be carried out. I believe that you don't even have to be present I believe that you can heal from a distance. I believe that you can just say right now illness be gone And it'll be gone. I know that you have the power to do that and I trust that you can do that You see the psalmist in Psalm 107 20 says he sent his word and healed him and delivered them from the destructions I know that you can that you can just give a word. I know that you can give a word of authority I got a command and you can say to this illness be gone and it will be gone And I'll tell you why I know this verse 8 because I'm a man who's been placed under authority Having soldiers under me and I say to one go when he goes another come and he comes to my servant do this And he does it. I Also am a man. I don't want you to see verse 8 there how he says it. I also am a man placed under authority Kingdom authority is wielded most effectively When you are a person under authority When you are a person who is under God's authority under the authority of the word of God under the authority of properly a Proper authority within that the framework of the church you can be used by God You know one of the things that and I'll let me give you something very practical Practical about this for those who may have an interest in this for those who do not just listen for a moment But I'll share with those who do if you have an interest in this This can be a blessing to you One of the things that you need to learn and it's a very simple thing is in order to to give an order You have to be able to take an order In order to be able to give an order you have to be able to take an order this was a man who is in the military and When you're in the military you learn things about giving and receiving orders You learn to do that because if you're if you're in the military There's always somebody who's giving you orders and if you begin to move up in rank Then you ultimately get to the position where you're the one who's giving orders and I've shared this with with Leadership classes before and let me share a basic thing with you right now Related to that For me being in the military is a real important thing because I learned how to take an order I didn't like taking orders. I was the one that was constantly resisting orders I was one of those in the military that if somebody gave me an order You know what there was not a guarantee that I was actually going to carry carry it out I mean, I would I would find ways to do Pretty much what you're telling me to do but not necessarily everything that you're telling me to do and my attitude was always really bad It took a long time for the Lord to break that in my life to be honest with you I was a person who was constantly trying to find ways around having to do things when we were in in Fort Bragg You know, we would call it skating or ghosting There were things that we would do to get out from having to do something that somebody told us to do and quite a Number of my friends and I were that way I can still remember and I don't know if I should tell you this so I will I'll tell you So what? It's a long time ago and God forgave me You have to take shots when you're in the army I'm one of these people who doesn't like shots now Maybe you like them. Maybe you like to go as often as possible. I don't I do not like shots I never have like shots. I hate shots and But you have to take shots and so you go into basic training when you go into basic They give you a battery of shots and all of that but you have to have booster shots And so I'm finally what they call permanent party and so there I am inside of my barracks and low and behold It's the day that all of us have to receive our booster shots. I don't want to receive any shots You know, I hate shots don't want to take shots and and so I'm standing in line And as I'm standing in line I'm looking and I'm trying to figure out how am I going to get out of getting any of these shots Now that's pretty much something you can't really do you you know, normally you just get your shot And there's all these lines, but you know what I'm doing. I'm standing and I'm looking and I notice that first you go up to this one table and They ask you your name and you say your name Then they open up a book and they say you need to get this shot and you need this shot And then I noticed that they would walk up to this other guy and they would say to the other guy I need to have this shot and that shot and then the guy would give them the shots and then from there he would walk to another table and they would ask him what shots did you get and Then you would say I got these shots and I was standing there and as I was watching this I kept letting people go in front of me and and I was just watching and finally I said oh I've got an idea and so I walked up to the guy and he says what's your name? I said Rosalis and he says you need to get these two shots and I said fine and I watched the guy who's doing the shots and he was busy giving a shot to somebody else and I just walked straight across where the other guy was rubbing my arm and he goes What did they say you had to get now? I didn't lie. They said you had to get these shots So I said they said these two shots He says okay marks and I go bingo and I got out of it. It would work so good the next time they did it I did it a second time. Anyway, I hated taking orders. I hated being told what to do I was not a man who was good under authority. I mean one time I was standing out there There were 160 of us standing in formation my sergeant major said Rosalis you're doing extra duty And I and in front of a hundred and sixty men I said no, I'm not and he said and he said Rosalis you're gonna be doing extra duty and I said no I'm not and he said you're coming to the office at four o'clock and you're doing extra duty And I'm saying this in front everybody. No, I'm not that was my attitude. I did extra duty by the way but That he'd go to the to the stockade but but I just had this attitude So I you know I stand up here an older guy who's been around for a while And it can seem like you know, I've always taken orders. No, I did not know I hated taking orders And if you gave me orders, I would argue with you up and down my captain brought me into one time in the mess hall I was walking by with my tray and my breakfast and he said Rosalis come in here And I had to walk in where all the nco's and the other officers were and he said Anna You have to stand at attention and now I wanted these guys, you know in the airborne You're supposed to have they call it looking strapped. You have your your your your Fatigues all starched and they're all I mean real proper. You're supposed to be looking real sharp I was the guy who would wash my my fatigues and I would just Crumple them up and throw them at the bottom of a bag And then I just pull them out and wear them and they were all crumpled up always and I wouldn't shave every day You know and I and I avoided getting haircuts. I mean I hated haircuts, you know So I would have come in a scruffy look there and I'd all wrinkled and I'm walking by and captain Daniel says Rosalis come in here, and I have to stand at attention and he says this is what I'm talking about This is what's wrong with this company, and he's using me as an example, and I'm just standing there going yes, sir Yes, sir, you are gonna get your this and you're gonna do this today, and you're gonna get your haircut today Do you understand me soldier? Yes, sir. Okay get out of here right now if I have to go and I'm thinking man You know idiot and that was the way I was So, you know I stand up here and say we need to do these things and somebody says oh you've always done that no I haven't No, I haven't I was the most rebellious guy you would you could you could even imagine what I was in the military I was not one of these guys who just jumped in Europe in the air. How high sir. I'm already up in the air I wasn't that way at all say jump nothing you jump and that was my attitude and a jump You know I don't you know get up now. I didn't come into your room and wake you up Don't come into my room and wake me up That was So I've learned some lessons over the years guys I really have and you know they were hard lessons They were difficult lessons, but what I have learned is this if you're gonna learn to give an order You had better be able to take an order and that's what this man is basically saying he's looking at Jesus And he says I too Am a man under authority Where'd you get the idea that Jesus was under authority because he watched him and knew That he could trust the Lord Jesus Christ because he was under the father's authority and he could see that Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft But Jesus was under authority and the things that he did were were were in in Response to the direction of his father and so kingdom authority is always wielded by being under authority in John chapter 17 verse 8 Jesus said I have given to them the words which you father gave Me they receive them and have known surely that I came from you and they have believed that you did send me I Gave them the words you gave me Jesus was under his father's authority Hebrews 10 7 I said behold I come in the volume of the book it is written of me to do your will oh God So Jesus was so obviously submitted to his father that the centurion knew that he had this authority And so that's why he's able to say to him I Too am a man under authority He said I have soldiers under me. I say to one go he goes do another come he comes to my servant do this He does it I see that you are one under authority and if you give an order then then illness Hashtafly I know you have that power and so when that's taken place in verse 9 when Jesus heard these things he marveled at him and Turned around and said to the crowd that followed him I say to you I have not found such great faith not even in Israel You might find this interesting Jesus is recorded as marveling using that word two times in the Gospels It's recorded here that he marvels he marveled at him in verse 9 he marvels at a Gentiles faith But the other place is found in Mark chapter 6 verses 5 and 6 and that's where he marvels at Jewish Unbelief because it says in Mark chapter 6 5 and 6 he could do there no mighty work Save that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them and he marveled because of their unbelief He marvels at a Gentile who is not part of the promises of the nation of Israel Trusting that he has the authority and power to do a work that Messiah can do and he marvels at his own people Who should have known better did not believe what he could do So he says to the crowd that followed him. I say do you I haven't found this kind of faith? Not even in Israel The Jews he's saying do not have the kind of faith that this Gentile is shown and therefore He's a model of genuine faith to all So he becomes a type if you will a type of all Gentiles who are saved by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ that's how all people are saved by putting their trust in him And so he says I haven't seen anybody with this kind of faith not even the nation of Israel I'm here doing works and teaching words and and I'm still being opposed but this Gentile Here's that I'm in town and and it's so humble. He doesn't first at foremost Approach me by himself, but he ultimately does and then just says give an order This is a man of tremendous faith And so verse 10 and those who were sent returning to the house found the servant well who had been sick Again cross-referencing from Matthew 8 in verse 13 Matthew says 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 So Christ honored his faith his faith was complete and so was the healings So two things stand out in this one you see in this man a deep and sincere Humility and second you see that in order to receive anything it requires a genuine faith in him to receive Moving on into verse 11 now what happened the day after That he went into a city called Nain and many of his disciples went with him in a large crowd and When he came near the gate of the city behold a dead man was being carried out The only son of his mother and she was a widow and a large crowd from the city was with her When the Lord saw her he had compassion on her and said to her do not weep Then he came and touched the open coffin and those who carried him stood still and he said young man I say to you arise and He who was dead sat up and began to speak and he presented him to his mother Then fear came upon all and they glorified God saying a great prophet has risen up among us and God has visited his people And this report about him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region And so we see him now entering into a city That's just south of the city of Capernaum a small place called Nain And you see how he is walking with many disciples as well as a large crowd of people as He enters into the city according to verse 12 he comes near the gate and he sees a dead man being carried out This man is described as the only son of his mother and what that means is that she is now a widow who is left without support and as she is walking out there as a woman who is unsupported no husband No son You see the tremendous pain that she's going through and there's a large crowd that's accompanying her and Undoubtedly during that time they would have what is called professional mourners Who would be there crying and making all kinds of noise and everything and so the commotion is great And so what you see is you see two parades that actually are meeting You see Jesus walking at the head of his with his disciples and a curious crowd And then you see others who are leaving a city carrying a dead man about to to put him in a tomb and And the sorrow of a mother and so what happens here as he sees as verse 13 is the Lord looks at the mama When the Lord saw her notice he had compassion on her and he said to her do not we and Then he came and touched the open coffin and those who carried him stood still and he said young man I say to you arise Now there's two things. I want you to see here in two very important things One we know that Jesus Christ Has power we know that we know that because we read the Bible and it speaks concerning the miracles that he performs We know that Jesus Christ has power He's just healed a young servant boy with a word and and all we up to here and up to chapter 7 There have been incidents that we've seen that Demonstrate to us that Jesus Christ has power We also know that Jesus Christ has compassion That he has a sense of coming alongside of you and hurting with you. He has compassion Compassion is a great thing and power is a great thing You can have compassion and No power you can weep and cry, but you can't do anything about it But you can have power with no compassion. It doesn't move you whatsoever That's somebody's hurt somebody's lost a child But when you have compassion and power joined together you have the ingredients for a miracle Because Jesus Christ not only has the power to do the work But he has the heart to do it also and so he's somebody who has power and he has somebody who has compassion and As a gracious loving man, he's gonna he sees the weeping woman and notice how he ministers to her He says to her do not weep. He speaks first to mama and says do not weep Now to me that's a that's kind of a difficult thing to imagine I mean, there's a time for weeping. She's lost her child And it would be it would be almost it would almost be cruel To tell her don't cry about that. It would almost be cruel to do that When I went into the military I had already been saved went into the army went through basic training and I came home I had a month leave and so I took the month off and then I had a report to Fort Benning, Georgia And I was flying out of Los Angeles international airport We're going to be flying to Atlanta and then to Columbus and then move on into Fort Benning and you know I was 20 years old and and You know and you know as much of a monster as I had been for a few years I should I should say this to you because just this last Sunday I was mentioning how unloving I was but you need to know how loving my parents were Because as much as a monster as I was my parents absolutely loved me You know they they loved me very much and I don't say that for any other reason then then it should be said My parents loved me an awful lot. I just was an ungodly monster of a child But they loved me in spite of what I was like because parents do that and my parents loved me an awful lot But after I got saved things changed radically in the house You see because before I got saved the last year I was hardly ever at home. I was very seldom at home and And the only time I really was home was was when I came home after partying or I'd been out until You know two or three in the morning and I didn't work You know so I'd party basically almost every day and I'd come home at two o'clock or three o'clock every day Basically, that's the way it was. That's why my mom could say you couldn't come home one time The reason mama said that is because I didn't come home. I was always gone I was always, you know just doing something and so I was never around the family But after I got saved I started staying home after I got saved I I started in inviting people to the house for prayer meetings and worship times and and and I started talking to my dad and my mom about Jesus and and I started taking my two sisters to church with me to Calvary Chapel and all and everything Radically changed. It was absolutely just amazing the change that took place My mom didn't worry about me drinking anymore. My mama didn't worry about me You know smoking pot or doing drugs anymore. Those things were not taking place anymore I was walking up to my dad who was you know, pretty much the average guy of his generation Who was pretty much he loved you but didn't really know how to say it or didn't say it And I was learning to hug my dad and and and tell him dad. I love you, you know And I was holding my mom in my arms and I would pray for her and I would kiss her and my life was radically transformed And so in from from darkness I was brought into light and mom and dad finally had the kid that they really deserved actually that they Really wanted to have a kid who loved them. It was obedient and cared and all of that And then my life was absolutely radically transformed But now I got to go into the military and I'm gone and I've been gone for you know Two and two and a half months and and now I've been on leave for a month And now they're taking me to los angeles in order to get on this plane and and I'd only flown once in my whole life And it was a short hop from here to san ozé and that was basically it now I'm flying all the way across the united states and going to be gone They don't know when they're going to see me again and my mom is standing there looking at me And I still remember this as she's staring at me there in the airport And and and she was being a you know a trooper She was just kind of biting her upper lip there and looking at me But I could see that she was holding back her tears and I looked at my mom And I said mama do you want to cry and my mom looked at me She said I shouldn't cry and I said mama because I'm a brand new christian guys keep that in mind I've only been a christian a few months, but I've been reading the bible. I read ecclesiasties and I said mama There's a time to mourn There is a time to cry The bible says so Man she let go niagra You know, maybe I shouldn't have said that but she really needed to hear it You know, she really needed to hear that there is a time to cry There is a time when you if you have someone you love with all of your heart And even though you know they went home to be with the lord that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt It doesn't mean that at all it if you cry It's just it's just a natural thing god has given to us an opportunity and an ability to do that And that's how we deal with our emotions and all and so as I read this this woman has just lost her son She's left basically destitute And the first thing jesus says is do not weep Now that would be cruel if you didn't have a plan It would be cruel If you didn't have a plan, but he has a plan he has a plan So he says to her do not weep and then verse 14 he came in touch the open coffin And those who carried him stood still And he said young man I say to you arise We're seeing the compassion of christ and the power of jesus The psalmist in psalm 145 verses 8 and 9 Tells us the lord is gracious and full of compassion Slow to anger and great in mercy The lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works He is gracious compassionate and merciful And what jesus is doing is he's claiming as his own What death had seized as its prey And he gives life to this young man And then he gives this young man back to his mother It says in verse 15 he who was dead sat up and began to speak Boy, that would have been I don't know about you That would have freaked me out My grandmother went to a funeral when she was a little girl Before uh well it was in mexico and they did not in balm And my mom told me the story about my grandma And she was I guess in the front row And they had an open casket. They didn't in balm And it was very hot and rigor mortis set in And uh the dead persons body jerked And actually sat up in that coffin And cleared that church out I mean could you imagine that? He said no, I wish you would not have died. They said oh man, and I'm out of here, you know I don't know I don't know So when the lord does that And the young man sits up, you know But see rigor mortis he could have sat up But he not only sat up notice and he began to speak Which is demonstrating obviously that he's alive and not just going through rigor mortis and And and he presented him to his mother and the mother must have been in absolute shock What happens to the people verse 16 fear came upon all And what was the result they glorified god Seeing a great prophet has risen up among us god has visited his people And this report about him went throughout all gd in the surrounding region When they say that that that this that god has visited that word visited is an interesting word. It means god has provided for God has cared for his people In other words, you know, it's been Four centuries since the close of the old testament canon book of malachi It's been four centuries Since there have been reports of of god being amongst us four silent Centuries And he's visited us. He's come to minister to us and that's what they're saying here God has has visited us Earlier in in luke in chapter 1 verse 68. We read we read blessed is the lord god of israel He has visited and redeemed his people and that's what's taking place here. God has visited us God his is this great prophet is amongst us And so what happens is they begin to go out and share the word that that jesus is there That's what happens When god does a work in you by the way You know so many times we want to have some a handy way to to To be witnesses a handy way to go out and And and all and we as a church want to do our very best to equip you even as we're going to be having Basically a how to witness classes for those of you who want to learn some basic ways to do that And we've got already got a ton of people who want to do that and I think that's great I think that's a good thing And we want to learn how can we do that how can we go out and share you know I want to but I'd like to have some scriptures and a little help and that's what jesus did Jesus would train up his disciples and they go out and they do the work They watch the master and as they watch the master do the work they went out and duplicated what he did But I've discovered something You can have all the training in the world But if you don't have a heart to tell people about jesus christ then the training goes nowhere But when you have a heart when you have a willingness when you have a desire when you have this motivation this I just want to tell somebody something you will do it you will find ways to do it You will find opportunities to do it You'll be looking for opportunities to share about jesus christ you'll do that because you love them Not because you want to get another spiritual scalp on your belt Not so that you can brag to your friends. Oh, I witnessed to so many people today No, it's because you can't help But talk about the lord why because of what god has done in your life And when god moves when you when you see the lord doing some tremendous things when you see the lord blessing I'm telling you it's the easiest thing in the world to do. It's it's not that difficult You just open your mouth and god fills it with words You just say oh, you know I and and you just it's not that hard all you need to do is be willing to say something And so that's what they're doing This report about him went throughout all gidea and all the surrounding area They began to say something amazing happened We saw a dead man Raised a life and handed back to his mom and you know who did did that jesus of nazareth did that We saw it and the word goes forth and even so That was actually to be honest with you that was one of the motivators for me when I first got saved and started to learn How to witness and share Because I was seeing spiritually dead people being brought to life Spiritually dead people being brought to life And when you see god grab hold of somebody's life and transform it It's an amazing thing. You know when I was first saved I didn't even really know how to To witness, you know what I used to do and this is the truth I would say as much as I knew And then I was one of these who would say come and see Come and see and for me. I would say you need to go to Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. Have you ever heard of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa? I would say that well, yeah, we've heard something about that. Well, you want to know something man You ought to go there What I was trying to say to them is listen. I'm brand new at this and I really don't know that much But but there are people there who can help you go a lot further than I can So I was that way you ought to go there And eventually I got to the point where I said, why do I have to keep sending people somewhere? Why can't I deliver them to Jesus myself? And so I just started memorizing scripture and I started learning how to share and then I started Trying to do that and the rest is history But the first it was like you have to go and see And finally the Lord said why don't you just reveal my love to them? And that's what I tried to learn to do and have been trying for many years to do But it's the same principle the news goes out Because the dead are being brought to life and that's what Jesus Christ does Takes the spiritually dead and brings them to life