Matthew 8;5-13 (KJV)
And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel.
And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Issac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
Considering this is an interaction between a man (a man of authority) and Christ Jesus, we must get something straight off the top. Either this Roman centurion heard about all of what Jesus was doing, and believed it. Or, he had to have witnessed him speaking and/or performing a miracle to come to Christ Jesus asking for a healing of his servant. Then, you must also think about the connection this Roman centurion had to this particular servant even to seek Christ Jesus out, to ask for that servant's restoration of health. I mean the centurion did say, of himself, that he had "authority". He did state that the servant was GRIEVOUSLY TORMENTED. He also stated that he could make the simplest of commands and they would be carried out immediately.
I paint this picture for you because I desire, yes it is my desire, that you reach that place we all know humans can reach, especially when they in power, whenever they have the ability to directly affect the condition of another within their care, scope, or are charged with that person's being. C'mon, y'all know where I am going with this. Most people, when in charge of others that do no benefit to the process of the person in charge, will 'throw the person away'. Yes! They will! Perfect example: Enron Corporation. Need I explain further?
So, today's encouragement is to get all of us to see exactly why Christ Jesus had to make the statement he did concerning the whole of Israel. Which isn't that difficult to see. And, it also the exact reason why I was lead to this particular scripture in the first place. This is so good that it might make you go somewhere and sit down. LOL... What we have to see here is the FAITH of the Roman centurion. He came to Christ Jesus acknowledging Jesus as above him in authority. He even went so far as to show Jesus, through explanation of his own understanding of authority, why he is standing before him calling him Lord. Oh! And, what continues to throw me is that he showed his faith in all humbleness. "I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof", is this dude's position standing in front of Christ Jesus. Ready for what's going to make you sit down? You sure you ready?.....
This centurion came to Christ Jesus, with this position of humbleness, acknowledging Christ's authority, (and even not having knowledge that Jesus is the Christ) to seek the restoration of another person. Re-read this again. No! Let this truly sink in.
Can you see, now, why Christ Jesus had to make the statement about Israel? Partly because, yes, there was not so great a faith in all of Israel. That is what Christ Jesus explained. But, added on to that this centurion faith was for the restoration of another that had never met Christ Jesus: to see that the other person would be healed just because this centurion sought out Christ Jesus. Where is our level of faith at on this day? Is high enough to believe Christ for the peace you been seeking since last week? Is that faith strong enough to get you over to that family member's house to mend that broken fence between you two? Could the faith be lasting enough to hope that the ex, who broke your heart all those years ago, can be a better person today; even though you do not have to nor have desire to lay eyes on him/her again? How about this one?
Is your faith good enough to go before Christ Jesus, and you know he IS the Christ, on behalf of another that doesn't know about Christ Jesus, or probably will not acknowledge Christ Jesus? To seek that person's restoration? Would you do that? Yes, it is a right now question that needs the right now answer. Seriously, there is a person out there, today, that is in desparate need of Christ's wonder working power, and it takes that wonder-working faith. That faith that would propel us to our knees; to seek Christ Jesus; to get us to ask for the restoration of peace, comfort, joy, strength, and eternal life of another we are connected to. There is, right now, someone within your sphere of influence, someone you are in charge of, someone who you have authority over, who IS hurting (grievously) and all that could be needed for them to be restored is for you to go see Christ Jesus. To ask for them.
I, personally, am at the feet of Christ for someone. This particular person is going to have restoration because I know Christ Jesus, and he would not desire that this individual still have to deal with such hurt and brokenness. I also know that as soon as I alert Christ Jesus to their condition, he will heal in that selfsame hour. To have your healing!!!!! Trust!!!! Christ Jesus has healed you!!! Hallelujah!!!! Please, Brothers and Sisters, do not allow one more day to pass now that you are in front of Christ Jesus, make sure someone else will receive of his power too. Thank you Jesus, for prompting the writing of this blog post. Now, I await all the praise reports that will find their way back to this blog post, so that even more of your power will go forth. Oh, thank you Lord.
Holla,
Yer Brova Catalyst
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