We turn in the Word of God to read it together from Isaiah 60 and then Luke 7. Let's stand together. First Isaiah, chapter 60. The Gentiles bless Zion. It has always been God's plan and intention that salvation through Jesus Christ would be for the world, for every nation, tribe, and tongue. And this was prophesied already long ago in the Old Testament. Isaiah 60, hear the word of the Lord. Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the people, but the Lord will arise over you. His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around and see they all gather together. They come to you. Your son shall come from afar and your daughter shall be nursed at your side. Then you shall see and become radiant and your heart shall swell with joy because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you. The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you. The multitude of camels shall cover your land, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah, and all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord. All the flocks of Keter shall be gathered together to you. The rams of Nebaioth shall minister you. They shall ascend with acceptance on my altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. Who are these who fly like a cloud, like doves to their roost? Surely the coastlands shall wait for me. And the ships of Tarshish will come first to bring your sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them, to the name of the Lord your God and to the Holy One of Israel. because He has glorified you. The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you. For in my wrath I struck you, but in favor I have had mercy on you. Therefore your gates shall be opened continually. They shall not be shut day or night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles and their kings in possession. For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you shall perish, and those nations shall be utterly ruined. The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the pine, and the box tree together to beautify the place of my sanctuary. And I will make the place of my dwelling glorious. Also the sons of those who afflicted you shall come bowing to you. And all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet. And they shall call you the city of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas you have been forsaken and hated so that no one went through you, I will make you an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations. You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles and milk the breast of kings. You shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the mighty one of Jacob. Instead of bronze, I will bring gold. Instead of iron, I will bring silver. Instead of wood, bronze. And instead of stones, iron. I will also make your officers peace and your magistrates righteousness. Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders, but you shall call your walls salvation and your gates praise. A fulfillment, this prophecy comes in Luke chapter seven, a Gentile believer set forth in the word. Now when he, Jesus, 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 of the Jews to him, pleading with him to come and heal his servant. And they came to Jesus. When they came to Jesus, they begged him earnestly, saying that the one for whom he should do this was deserving, 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, and to another, come, and he comes, and to my servant, do this, and he does it." When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him. He 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." And this is the Word of the Lord. We turn together in the Word of God for the preaching of the Word to Luke chapter 7. The first 10 verses. This narrative we just read, which is, well the question is, what is it about? He begins with a very sick servant and quickly moves to a different central figure, a Roman centurion. And really at the heart of the text, really two themes, they run intertwined through the whole text. The kindness and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ and the healing of this desperate man, but at the same time, Something else shines just as brightly, and that is this, the thing that stands at the heart of being a Christian, which is faith in Jesus Christ. At the heart of what it means to be a Christian is a little word, faith. The Apostle Paul wrote clearly that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The word faith, not surprisingly, and I'm sure this is part of the campaign of the evil one to seek to shroud the clarity and power of the word and redefine terms as he does in so many ways, but there's a lot of people today, a lot of people even who would consider themselves to be Christians who have no idea what the word faith actually means in the Bible. What faith is not. It's not a feeling or a sensation. It's not willpower. You know those little phrases, we just gotta have faith. And sentences like that really bother me because they mean nothing. Faith is nothing without an object. And the reason why faith is effective in saving is because of the object, and that's Jesus Christ. To simply have faith as some sort of inward psychological condition of confidence is actually diametrically opposed to what the Bible means when it talks about faith. It's also, again, as I said a moment ago, not a feeling or a sensation. It's not uncommonly when I ask people why they think they're Christians, that they say something to me like this, I had an experience of the presence of God in a difficult period of my life. But that is not a description of saving faith. There's a lot of people who could tell you that they had experiences of some sort of sense of the presence of God in a difficult point in their life, who don't know Jesus Christ or the power of his resurrection. They actually don't have biblical faith. I remember as a boy we had a box full of a magazine that some of you remember called Reader's Digest, and other of you who probably don't even hardly know what magazines are wouldn't remember this, but there was a column in there called Drama in Real Life. and a monthly feature and it was a story about somebody who had, you know, hiking and fell into a river and got swept five miles downstream into the wilderness and lost everything and was in a canyon and hiked out and in some way that they had been dramatically rescued. Car wreck, plane crash, almost every story at some point this person would pray. Find themselves in a trouble too big for their strength and power to deliver themselves. But that in itself is also not saving faith. This is why students of the Bible, and the framers, for example, of our confession, define faith carefully. And we often use an adjective when we talk about faith carefully. We talk about saving faith. The kind of faith that brings salvation. the kind that results in eternal salvation, biblical faith, faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior. It has a number of critical characteristics, this saving faith. And first and most broadly, I said, it has an object. It's not just willpower. It is a looking to somebody else. Faith is a Holy Spirit-worked ability to see. to recognize the identity and glory and saving power of Jesus Christ. It's not only to recognize it, but to trust Him. We'll get to that in a moment. But faith has an object. Saving faith, you look away from yourself to another Jesus Christ. And you can only see His power and glory by the work of the Holy Spirit. It's a gift of God. It involves a number of things. When we talk about faith, it involves knowledge. You need to know who He is. You can't have faith in Jesus Christ if you've never heard of Him. Paul says this in Romans chapter 10. How could you have faith in someone you didn't know? You need to know Him. You need the content of the Gospel. You need to know who He is and what He came to do, that He died and He rose again. You need the narrative of the Gospel. You need the presentation of Jesus Christ. But you need more than that. Because there's a lot of people who have read the New Testament. I saw online this week, and I prayed for them, Tim Allen, the actor Tim Allen was writing on social media, he was writing that he read all the way through the Old Testament and he's starting the New Testament and he said, it's like nothing I ever have read before. I'm shocked, I've never read through the Bible. Pray that he would be converted by the Word. I don't know what's happening, but he's reading his whole Bible for the first time in his life. But you could finish reading the Bible and you could rehearse the story and you could still not have faith. What do I mean by that? You could say, like a lot of people do, that was an interesting story, I don't believe it's true. No one's ever risen again from the dead. So you can know the story, but you could not assent to its truth. You could disagree with it. Faith requires knowledge and assent. I believe this is true. Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem, born of a virgin, but that's still not saving faith. Even the demons believe in tremble. The demons all through Jesus' ministry could identify with phrases like this, You are the Holy One of Israel. You're the Messiah! But they hated Him. They would not bow. They were ossified in their rebellion. Faith includes a third thing, trust. That not only do you know the Gospel story, you believe its historical reality, but you say, this Jesus is my Savior. I trust Him. And that's saving faith. I once was blind, but now I see. Regenerated by the Spirit of God, you must be born again to see the Kingdom of God. You have eyes to see Jesus. You understand your need. You run from yourself to Jesus Christ, believing in Him, the One who died and rose again for you. You trust Him. You cast yourself upon Him. You believe that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And hearing that, you believe in Him. You receive life and life abundantly. It is an act of the will also in which you personally receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation. This kind of saving faith is required to enter heaven, to have eternal life, to truly know Jesus Christ. And the text before us is about this. As a matter of fact, the text sets before us one of the greatest examples of this kind of faith in all the scriptures and perhaps in history. For there is a man at the center of it, a Roman centurion, who you would expect to be a rebel against God, who Jesus says this about. I have not seen such great faith. As a matter of fact, the text says, get this, Jesus marveled. He was astonished. I have not seen such great faith. No, not in all Israel. And so the text is going to present to you somebody who possessed, in a display of remarkable earnestness, trust in Jesus Christ that made the Savior Himself marvel. Let's look at the story of the Roman centurion and his servant, the Lord Jesus Christ. You look at the opening of chapter 7, there's movement here. You should have chapter six in mind, and I'll go over this really briefly. Chapter six was a big crowd of people who had gathered to Jesus. Jesus was working miracles, and he recognized that there's a lot of different spiritual conditions, and he preached a sermon that articulated what a true disciple is. Someone who has love for his neighbor, someone who forgives as he's been forgiven, somebody whose words that flow from his heart are holy and transformed by the power of God, and somebody who says, Lord, Lord, and when he says, Lord, Lord, obeys and follows Jesus. He was looking to teach about true discipleship. Chapter seven, ironically, sets before us a true disciple, a Roman centurion. somebody who embodies all that Jesus was just teaching. As a matter of fact, the text is connected even sequentially by the opening phrase. Now, when he had concluded all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. In other words, keep this in mind, chapter six, what a true disciple is, and follow Jesus as he goes to Capernaum, the base of his ministry at this period in his life. The first thing we read about is a certain centurion servant there, dear to whom, who was sick and ready to die. He's a slave. The Greek word here means he was owned by his master. Under the ancient laws of the Roman Empire, he was a possession of his master. This man was in a desperate condition. He was sick, and he wasn't just sick. I know some of you have had fevers and mild illnesses in the past week, but this is a different kind of sickness. He was ready to die. He was close to the last heartbeat, the last breath. He's right at the end. He's the central first person that we are introduced to, and that's the central problem in the narrative. But as we're introduced to him, we're also introduced to a certain centurion. And since we have a slave, here's the master. The master is a centurion. A centurion is a Roman officer, over 80 to 100 legionaries, and he's a Roman centurion, which means he represents in Israel the occupied power, the hated Roman empire that is one in a long list of empires, would take in the glory of Israel, crush the line of David, and should be hated by Israel and hate Israel. Sent there, he's a Gentile. We know that he's a Gentile because verse five says he loves our nation. He's somebody who developed a special love for Israel, but clearly it's implied that he's not part of Israel. Number one, a sick servant. Number two, a centurion who is the master. Number three, three unexpected details in the story. The slave is loved by the master. The servant is very dear to him. And we assume that all authority is evil, and in the ancient Roman Empire, like every period of slavery in human history, there were thousands of cruel and unjust and wicked men who crushed those under them. But this man seems to be the one in a million. He's different. He cares. He thought this man dear to him. The servant had a good master. It's very interesting that the Apostle Paul will use the same word, doulos, to describe his relationship to Jesus Christ. Here's a man under a good master. It's a blessing to him. Think of Abraham's servant who went out to find a wife for Isaac, who had learned the gospel from Abraham and how to pray. something about the character of this centurion here that's on display. So number one, the servant was dear to him. That's surprising. Second detail, he had heard about Jesus, and then the unusual thing in verse three is that he sent elders of the Jews to him, and that's instantly showing us a second relation. First, he has a relationship with the servant. Second, he has a relationship with the leaders of the nation he's occupying. Here's a Gentile who has some sort of relationship with the Jews that when he heard about Jesus, he can call Jewish friends and say, can you find Jesus for me? I need Jesus. There's a friendship implied here. News of Jesus' power and ability, back to chapter six and verse 17 and following, when the whole multitude was surrounding him, Jews and Gentiles, it has spread. That news has made it to the centurion in Capernaum, representative of the occupying power, who loves his servant, also has a friendship with these Jews. And He sends them and they go and beg for Him earnestly. They come to Jesus to plead with Jesus. Verse 3, to come and heal the servant. When they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving. He sent them to act in His name. This request, third, is honored. You might say He was just sending them. I already got ahead of myself here, but he wasn't just sending them. They went, and they begged, and they pleaded, and then look what they say about him. He's deserving, Jesus. He needs help. He deserves help, for he loves our nation, and he built us a synagogue. He loves the worship of God. It's just a striking picture. the power of God to bring Jew and Gentile together, even here in the shadow lands of, well, the end of the old covenant, the beginning of the new, but there's so much here that tells us of the character of this man already. He has a relationship with the Jewish leaders. He sends them in His name to represent Him. Through them He goes, and then they speak of Him. He loves our nation. He has built us a synagogue. He loves the worship of God. He's a man whose words flow from his heart and kindness, whose works match his profession, whose love for his neighbor is evident. All the things that Jesus just taught are in this man. A little side note here is there's something interesting about centurions in the New Testament. Almost everyone is mentioned in a positive light. The occupying power, in Matthew chapter eight, the parallel passage here, in Luke chapter seven, this centurion is converted. In Matthew chapter 27, it's a centurion that confesses that Jesus Christ is the Son of God on the cross. In Acts chapter 10, it's Cornelius, a centurion who's converted and comes to Christ under the preaching of the word. In Acts chapter 27, it's a centurion that saves Paul's life when they shipwreck on Malta. A little window here in the scriptures of the saving mercies of God and also a gospel that reaches every nation, tribe, and tongue across divides of hatred. Here is a foreigner, a Gentile representative of the military power of Rome. And he and the centurions of the New Testament again and again are often described as devout and merciful, God-fearers even. God has a man here. Like Jonah went to Nineveh. Here's God's mercy to every nation, tribe, and tongue. And something of what Paul would teach later in Ephesians chapter 2, already a reality in Capernaum. So now the ensuing encounter between the centurion and the Savior. The request has gone out. What happens? Verse six, then Jesus went with them. It appears that immediately upon hearing the request of this man, Jesus just turns and goes. While he's coming, he's getting closer to the house, we read verse six, he was already not far from the house. The centurion sends a second party to intercept Jesus. And you might wonder why. Some of the other miracles in the New Testament? Hurry, Jesus! Come quicker! Not this man. I am not worthy. Don't trouble yourself. I'm not worthy to have you under my roof. Now, you remember what his friend said, the Jewish friend. He deserves it. What does the centurion say? Lord, I don't even deserve to be in your presence. I don't deserve to have you in my home. He tells Jesus to slow down, and this is the first of two reasons. The first one, and we'll focus here for a moment, is a sense of unworthiness. When he compares his knowledge of himself and compares himself to Christ, he realizes that somehow already he knows there's this incongruity. I don't deserve to be with him. There's something about this man that is so much greater and more glorious than I am, that as he comes to my house, I am overwhelmed with the idea of him entering. More profound knowledge than we might expect from a Gentile centurion. More profound than many professing Christians who assume that Jesus, of course, should help them. Of course, that's what he does. This man is instinctively recognizing some fundamental incompatibility between himself and Jesus. It's captured in the word unworthy. Unworthy. I'm inadequate. I'm unqualified. It means I'm insufficient. There's something about His majesty and power and moral quality in mine that is incongruous to the degree that as He comes closer, the conviction of His presence in my home, I become more unworthy. There's a distance, an inequity of majesty, and a quality of majesty, holiness, goodness, and power, and evidence of my insufficiency. Second reason, not only unworthy, but look, because he believes something else about Jesus, which we'll see in a minute, is related to the unworthiness. Therefore, verse seven, just say the word and my servant will be healed. He doesn't only believe himself to be unworthy, but he believes that Jesus possesses a kind of power and glory that would allow him, as he walks in another part of the city, simply to speak a word and accomplish the request without ever showing up. He has a conviction of power. This is followed by an illustration. Look at verse eight. For I'm also a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to one, go, and he goes, and another, come, and he does, and to my servant, do this, and he does it. I know what it is to have authority. I know what it is to command for my word to mean something and see actions happen as I send and command my servants and my soldiers. I understand. But in you I believe there to be a kind of authority of an order and a degree that stow out strips this basic principle that I understand that would make me unworthy to have you in my house for I believe that you could speak a word and from a distance simply heal my servant. I believe that you have a power that corresponds in the idea of authority, but to such a greater degree than I possess. A power of command that can reach across space and time with the knowledge of my servant and his needs, the sickness in his body, and to so reorder him that he would live and not die. I believe that power belongs to you now, and it makes me believe that I am unworthy to be in your presence. that you could speak a word and death could turn to life. Please don't come to my home. I believe that you are the Lord of the universe, the giver of life, and that you possess majesty and glory in dimensions and quality and degree that I don't fully understand. You are no mere man. I have heard about you. And you must be a supernatural savior. This is divine power. So please, don't come, say the word, heal my servant. That will be enough. The combined effect of these two reasons. Reason number two is the bedrock reason. He sees something in Jesus, and this is where his unworthiness comes from. He sees the condition of his own self against the backdrop of the glory of Jesus Christ, who he believes possesses an infinite power to save and deliver. And if you remember, The Gospel of Luke in chapter 3 and verse 16, there was another man, John the Baptist, who said these words, I indeed baptize you with water, but one mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy, not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Same vision. There is someone coming of whom I am not worthy, who possesses the degree of saving power. There's nothing compared to my baptism of repentance in my ministry. I am not even worthy, the centurion, I'm not worthy to have you in my house. John the Baptist, I'm not worthy to loosen his sandal. Unworthy. I must decrease, he must increase, John would say. These men both together recognize that Jesus is the absolute Lord before no one can claim any higher authority and power. That the measure of majesty that he's just hearing about through the Word is a measure that is beyond his ability to comprehend and he has already embraced Jesus Christ by faith. Especially this little phrase. But say the Word and my servant will be healed. This is also like the faith of the Apostle John, who when he wrote about Jesus, wrote, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him. Without Him, nothing was made that was made, and Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory." It's what the writer of Hebrews says, that God, through His holy Word, Hebrews 1, verses 1-4, that it is through the Word of the power of God, all things were made, all things are sustained. And the centurion has come to believe that this power and glory that belongs to the word, the living word, is found in Jesus Christ. Just speak the word, I am unworthy, he will be healed, I believe. And the word of Jesus is powerful. He said to the wind and the waves, Peace be still. Creation obeys. He said to Lazarus, come forth. The dead man lives. The centurion believes this about Jesus. He believes it. Why? Look at verse 3. Because he'd heard about it. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent to Him. When he heard about the man that Peter would preach, a man attested to you, Israel, by miracles, wonders, and signs. He believes because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. And that belief about Jesus produces reason number one. Who is worthy to stand in His presence? I'm not. It's the same thing that Isaiah would confess when he saw the glory of Christ and the vision of the holiness of God, the King on His throne in Isaiah 6. Woe is me, a man of unclean lips. It's the same thing that Jacob would confess that he had wrestled with God and he had lived. Genesis 32. It's the same thing that John would confess when he saw Jesus in the Revelation and when he saw Him in His glory, he fell at His feet as if He were dead. The centurion by faith sees this. He sees this glory. It's the same thing that the whole world will see when Jesus comes back and every knee bows and tongue confesses that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. It is an apprehension of the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ. The centurion can see it before the cross and the empty tomb even happens. He's like the disciples at the Mount of Transfiguration who fall before His shining glory. What's the response of Jesus Christ? If there's perhaps a more astonishing thing in the text, it's the little phrase that He marveled. You can read the whole narrative of the Gospels and people are always astonished by Jesus, by His teaching in the synagogue with authority, by His stilling the wind and the waves. Everyone is astonished by Jesus. Here Jesus is astonished by the centurion. He marveled in his humanity. He was overcome with amazement. This Gentile hearing the news would believe Glory and majesty of which I am not worthy. Saving power that knows no degree. A word that is able to raise the dead and heal the sick and save sinners. It all belongs to Him. That's my confession. So Jesus says, I say to you, I have not found so great faith. knowledge, assent, trust in Jesus Christ. I have never seen anything like this in all Israel. He understands who I am. You want this kind of faith. The third response of Jesus, first to marvel, second to proclaim, and third, He hasn't forgotten the request. And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well, who had been sick." Don't miss this. Exactly what the centurion believed could happen, did happen. The Living Word walking through the streets of Cameroon by divine power across space and time reached in according to the intercessory believing request of the man who believed he was not worthy but Jesus was able. Already he's healed. And everything that he believed was true. The thing of central importance here is faith in Jesus Christ. Let's focus on that for a moment. Faith in Jesus Christ. The essence of faith is caught here. Faith, as the writer of Hebrews says, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Did he see Jesus heal anybody? No, he heard. And he believed. Here he has knowledge. I heard about Jesus' sin. I believe the report is true. Then trust you are able to do these things from afar. He has the gift of God worked by the Holy Spirit. And faith is this, it is that bond of our union with Christ. It alone is the instrument of our justification, the sufficient condition for eternal life. By believing in Jesus Christ, you have life in His name. It is an exercised act of the renewed will. By it, you hold to Jesus Christ as you have seen him by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. And like Jacob wrestling with the angel of the Lord, you say, I will not let you go unless you bless me. You hold on. The essence of faith is illustrated here in the centurion. Second thing is the growth of faith is indicated. Or the idea of degrees of faith. Jesus says, great faith. In other places in the Gospel, He says, you have little faith and rebuke. Sometimes He says, if you have faith, like the grain of a mustard seed, which is an illustration of very small faith. Understand here, faith can be strengthened, sometimes weakened, tested, stretched. It's not a static thing tied to one momentary decision. but a bond of a living relationship in which the sinner always looks to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We live our life by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gives to us. Having seen Him, we never stop looking to Him, holding to Him, believing in Him, trusting Him. And this man has great faith. He's doing that in a remarkable way. Faith greater than all Israel. Paul wrote to the first Thessalonians 2 and verse 13, your faith grows exceedingly. Jesus taught a parable and he said he healed a man in two stages. You remember that? The first one, the man, he was blind and when he was done he could see men like trees walking. In other words, he had blurred vision where he could see something of forms and shapes. And then he did a second miracle and he made his vision crystal clear. And that's sometimes the way that we grow in our faith. We see the beginnings and then later on as we mature we see more. This man already has great faith. If you're here this morning and you say, I believe in Jesus Christ, but oh, I pray that my faith would be like this man's faith, then you pray that it would grow. How would it grow? Lord, help me learn more about you. My knowledge increase by your Spirit, my ascent to your truth deepen, and the trust that I have in this one Savior that it would grow. Finally, it's necessity. Without it, no salvation. With it, full salvation. The sufficient cause of our salvation. The instrument of our justification. Once having been given, the scripture says it can never be lost. This is the glory of faith. It's necessary and glorious at the same time. How does one come to possess faith? Look at the centurion. He's actually different than so many in Jesus' day. One of the drumbeats you have through the Gospels is, what are people saying? Jesus, show me a sign. Do it right here in front of me. We've heard about you, but we want to see the power. You read this in Luke chapter 11 and verse 16, for example. One of the many examples where people ask Jesus for a sign. Others testing him sought from him a sign from heaven. Jesus would say this later as he continued speaking to them. This is an evil generation that seeks a sign. No sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. And then Jesus went to talk about the preaching ministry of Jonah and Nineveh. And that faith comes by hearing and indication and hearing by the word of God. So you've heard my word, repent. When he heard about Jesus, he believed. When he heard, he believed. A lot of people today want to see signs before they believe. Thomas, show me! Jesus says, blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And faith comes in hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. I want you to think about the centurion. At this point in his life, he had What you have, the testimony, eyewitness testimony concerning Jesus Christ. And that was enough for two convictions. You just have to speak the word and your majesty and glory makes me unworthy of your salvation. I believe. He didn't need Jesus to come. He heard about him. His motivation, his dear servant was sick. His faith, I've heard of the power of Jesus. I am convinced. Today you're under the preaching of Jesus Christ. And you need nothing else to exercise the same kind of faith, perhaps for the first time this morning or again in new and deeper ways. Today you've heard about him just like the centurion did, but we know a lot more than he did. We have reasons for faith, trust, and hope because we have the cross. And the dying love of Jesus Christ manifested in the one who hung between heaven and earth to take the curse for us, the one who rose again from the dead, the one who reigns right now, the one who said he's coming again on the clouds from glory, and who communicated all of these things in his word by the power of his spirit so that we, whether the first time or hearing again, would look to him, hold to him, and live for him. Finally, the great mercy and kindness in the text. It's a text that's filled with kindness. Let's turn back to that dying man. Because of the faith of the centurion, in the intercessory prayer of the man who held him dear, he's dying at the beginning and he's living at the end. Sometimes you wonder about these people who are healed by Jesus. What a remarkable encounter with divine power. Coursing through his broken, dying body, he springs to life. Because of the kindness of a master who considered him a friend and took his case to Jesus, the Lord of glory, who responded to the cries of his believing centurion servant and sent the word across Capernaum to make him better. The power of intercessory prayer is here. Humbly, persistently, he asks Jesus for help on behalf of the other in Christ who loves his servant's servant. And the whole thing is awash with the saving mercy and power of God. And of this principle, he's the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. See, it's not only the majesty and power of Jesus that draws to Him. It's His kindness. Undeserved mercy, which He loves to give. Salvation and life and forgiveness with power. How do you pray? Don't doubt. James says this, and James saw and knew Jesus. He was part of the inner circle. He says, ask in faith when you pray to this Jesus without doubting. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect he'll receive anything from the Lord. But instead, like this centurion, confident of his power and his kindness. You go to him and you believe you possess the majesty, the glory, the power, and the mercy that I need for salvation and that everyone I know needs for salvation. Lord, so I come to you and worship. Let's pray. Lord our God, we ask again that You would receive our thanks as we remember that faith is a gift, and that we have nothing to boast in. We thank You for faith that is saving faith, that sees the beauty and glory of Jesus Christ revealed in the Gospel, and embraces Him, Recognizing, Lord, our own unworthiness in your majesty and glory, mixed with your mercy and kindness, that we might approach you in need, believing that in you is salvation. Lord, we would pray, if there are any here who have not done this, hold you, Lord Jesus, at arm's length, that today would be the day to turn in true and saving living faith and be saved. Lord, we pray that we, as your people who gather here, that having seen for a moment something of the beauty and glory of Jesus Christ, the example of great faith, Lord, that you would increase our faith, strengthen our faith, cause us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, that you would fuel our praying, that you would increase our hope, that you would deepen our worship. And we ask in Jesus' name, amen. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.