The Posture of Faith, Part 1

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0:00So, I'm going to preach the next four sermons, including this one, is a kind of a series within a series. And I'm going to call this Real Life Faith, today and the next four sermons. So, many years ago, a friend of mine worked at The Host in Baker's Crust down at Carytown. It's a pretty nice restaurant. It's popular. So, when he was working there, there was a movie shooting in Richmond. And one of the stars of the movie came into Baker's Crust to eat, walked up to my friend.

0:35I've got a picture of that star. No, I'm just kidding. I'm not going to tell you who it was. He might be listening to this. So, he walks up to my friend, the host, and asks for a table. Problem is, if you've ever been to Baker's Crust, it's usually busy. Is Baker's Crust even there still? Does anyone know? I don't know. Do you think it is? It's busy, almost all the time. So, it was busy then. He asked for a table. My friend told him, I'm sorry, things are busy, there's a waiting list.

1:04The star didn't want to wait. There was some, like, discreet indications of, like, I shouldn't have to wait, you know. But then when my friend wasn't really going along with it, he started getting a little belligerent. And he finally said, look, do you know who I am? And my friend knew who he was, but was playing coy and was like, you are, I'm sorry. And the star turned around and, you know, in a big huff and, you know, left the restaurant. Entitlement is a bad look for anyone, right?

1:42We know that, and yet it's something that we struggle to put down. We like to keep a little bit of it in our back pocket, just in case we ever need it, right? In case we're ever in a situation where we need to kind of get out of it or demand better for ourselves, and we pull it out. So today we're going to see someone approach Jesus with a totally different posture, the opposite of entitlement. So let's pay attention to how Jesus responds to this man.

2:18Here's Luke 7, verses 1 through 10. Here's God's word for us today. Let's pay attention to it. Let's receive it as from the one who is trustworthy and true, completely reliable. After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now a servant, a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.

2:54And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built our synagogue. And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore, I did not presume to come to you, but say the word and let my servant be healed.

3:30For I too am a man set under authority, with 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. And turning to the crowd that followed him, said, I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well. Pray with me.

4:06Lord Jesus, be at work in our hearts. We need your truth to correct the lies that are in our heads and in our hearts. And we need hope, Lord. We need hope that only you can provide. Resting in ourselves is just, it's not going to cut it, Lord. Help us to rest in you alone. Jesus, we pray this in your name.

4:31So today's sermon, The Posture of Faith, Part 1. The Posture of Faith. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. That's the big takeaway from this text. You might recognize that. That's a, it's actually, Peter quotes that, and James quotes that. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. That's what we see here. So there's a crisis going on. The main character in the story is the centurion. If you don't know what a centurion is, he's a Roman soldier.

5:01He's actually like a commander. He's commanding a hundred men, hence the name centurion. The men that he would oversee, it would be some combination of mercenary soldiers, tax soldiers, policemen, some combination of those. It was a lot of responsibility, and he was paid well for it. But a centurion would have been paid 50 to 100 times what one soldier earned. So this guy was rich. He had power. He had authority. He had riches. He was a Gentile. He was a man of power in a foreign land.

5:37He's an occupier. The Romans are occupying this land. The Jews are subject to them. He's there to keep the peace and to take from the Jewish people whatever they owed the Roman government. That's his job. And yet, this is a powerful man facing a situation that he is completely powerless against. All his power has come to naught. It's worthless. He has a servant, which in this time, in this context, it would have been like a household employee. He really, really valued this household employee.

6:14Very valuable to him. Not in terms of price, but in terms of esteem. The word translated highly valued, it could also be translated honored or respected. He thought a lot of this servant. The servant probably made his household run well. This was a valued member of his staff. And this servant is about to die. Remember, Luke's a physician. He's adding this note in here. This is serious.

6:47But when he hears about Jesus, when the centurion hears about Jesus, hears that he's not far away, his hopes rise. He sends out these Jewish elders. These are civic leaders. This would be like sending like city council people over to see someone. The fact that these elders, the Jewish elders, would go on behalf of a Roman centurion is really unusual. Really strange.

7:15When they get there, it gets even more amazing. They don't just ask Jesus. They plead with him earnestly, it says. They say something noteworthy. He says, they say he is worthy to have you do this for him. They aren't just asking, they're endorsing this man, this occupier, a centurion. They're endorsing him. And why do they think he's worthy? Well, the text says he loves our nation. And he is the one who built us, our synagogue. Takes a lot of money to build a synagogue.

7:50This guy did it. And evidently, he's displayed a lot of devotion to the Jewish people. This is what they cite. They're basically saying, look at his resume, Jesus. Look at his resume. He deserves to have you do this for him. In other words, he's earned it. He's earned it, Jesus. To them, to the elders, this is a transaction. It's like a business deal. Look at everything that he's done. Can't you just do this little thing for him?

8:23Now, there's some relationships where it's transactional, and that's fine. That's just the way it is. A guy came a few weeks ago and cleaned out my gutters. He wasn't expecting to come in for coffee. For me to ask him how his life is. You know, we're not getting together next weekend to go to the game. He did a service for us. I paid him. It was a transaction. That's fine. But we all know that there's some relationships that they cannot be based on what you do for one another.

8:53If one side acts like it is based on that, you know something has gone wrong. Kids in the room, if your parents ever ask you to do something around the house, just spur the moment, and you answer, well, how much are you going to pay me? That's not a good answer. Don't give that answer. Because you're basically saying, well, you know, what's in it for me? Right then, you know, okay, hold on. You are looking at this relationship in the wrong way. This is not a transactional relationship.

9:30Now, Jesus doesn't say anything in response to these elders. He just goes. He doesn't approve of what they say. He doesn't agree with it. He just goes. But as he nears the house, another group of people come out, a personal group sent by the centurion, a group of his friends. They have a message for Jesus from the centurion himself, his own words. And that's the main thing we're going to talk about is the message that the centurion sends. The centurion starts with something really important.

10:03Humility to admit the truth. I am not worthy. Now, I don't think it's any accident that Luke has told this story in this way. The Jewish elders led with, he is worthy. And the centurion comes out and says the exact opposite. I am not worthy. This couldn't be more different. They said, he deserves something from you. He says, I don't even deserve to have you come in my house. So who's right? What do you think?

10:44I know we all want to answer the centurion. But before we go any further, we just need to acknowledge something about all of us, myself included. To some degree, maybe even it's a small one, we want to say to the centurion, hey, now, don't talk like that.

11:05You deserve great things. Of course you're worthy of that and more. However, don't say such things that you're not worthy. We think this because we live in a time and a place where we're told that our feelings are the most important thing about us.

11:28And bad feelings are to be avoided, are to be treated. Anytime we feel bad about ourselves, we're told that a wrong is being inflicted on us. And we need to do away with that wrong immediately. Whatever it's causing, it needs to stop, even if it's Jesus.

11:52Our culture would say the centurion has got a big self-esteem problem. Maybe some kind of inferiority complex, right? Some would even say, if you haven't heard this, you will, some would even say that that's why Jesus came, to deal with a self-esteem problem with people like the centurion, to help them love themselves more.

12:26Listen, let's acknowledge that that is in us, it's all around us, and it's bound to seep in us at points. But let's also acknowledge, what does the word of God say? Okay, let's let the word of God teach us about what it is that we deserve, what it is that we're worthy of.

12:47When we read the word of God, we're reminded that God is our superior in every conceivable way. He created all things, the world that we live in, and us, all the stars, all the galaxies in existence. Scientists think that there are an equal amount of stars in the whole known universe as there are sand, grains of sand on all of Earth's beaches. He made all of that. And right now, he's holding it all together. He's in control of the expansion of the universe, the movement of all the planets in our solar system, all the cycles of the seasons of the planet that we live on, and all of the activities of every cell in each one of our bodies.

13:35He's infinitely good. He's infinitely wise. He's infinitely glorious. He's infinitely worthy of all of our worship. And we are rebels at our heart. That's where we start from birth. We are rebels.

13:56We find any way to resist his rule over us. Without God's work in our hearts, that would be all of us, our entire lives. He is superior to us in power and glory and in morality and righteousness.

14:16When this is exposed, people naturally tremble in fear. We read earlier in the service about Isaiah the prophet. A prophet. Somebody chosen by God to deliver messages from God is brought before the presence of God. He sees him seated on his throne. He doesn't say, wow, this is neat.

14:41He doesn't say, oh, good. Let me get out my list. God, I got some things I want you to do for me. He falls on his face. He says, woe is me. Woe is me. For I am lost. I am a man of unclean lips, and I come from a people of unclean lips. And my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. He knows that he should not be there. And that left untreated, he will surely die. Now, we read in the passage what God does, right? God intercedes. God says, yes, you're right.

15:19Goes and he gets that call. And as a symbol of atonement, comes to Isaiah and touches his lips, his unclean lips. And he says, you can stay. Come in. I've got a message for you.

15:35Sometimes I wonder if being an American itself is a hindrance for us in this regard. We don't do kings here. We did away with all that. If you've ever seen Hamilton, you know that the greatest cheers in the audience are not really for Alexander Hamilton. They're for George Washington. He gets the loudest cheers in the whole thing.

16:01Meanwhile, the biggest laughs are at whose expense? King George. He's there for you to laugh at him. That's the American ethos. The United Kingdom just crowned a new monarch for the first time in 70 years. There was lots of bowing. I didn't watch it. I guess I'm just assuming. There was lots of bowing. Lots and lots of bowing. To Americans, bowing seems strange. Why would we bow to a person? It's just beyond us.

16:38Friends, if Jesus were here, would you hesitate to bow? I don't think that you would. And even if it weren't an exterior bow, there would be a bow of your heart, right? I think about Mary when she saw Jesus after he'd been resurrected. What she wanted to do is embrace him. That was the bow of her heart, right? That was, you're great. You're greater than I am. I love you. I worship you.

17:09When Peter recognized for the first time who Jesus was, just a few weeks ago we heard this sermon. He brought in the big catch of fish. His immediate response was, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. Jesus didn't leave, but he didn't disagree.

17:30Jesus' glory, it was mostly hidden and cloaked while he was walking around on earth, but it was still there. Peter recognized it, and someday it's going to be seen by everyone. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The appropriate response is humility. It's got to begin with humility, and it continues with humility. The best time to respond to Jesus in humility is now.

18:05You've heard, you may have heard by now that Tim Keller passed away on a Friday morning. If you don't know who he is, he was a pastor in our denomination. He was a best-selling author. He was a man who loved the Lord and cherished the gospel. Long before he planted a church in Manhattan that grew to 5,000 people that then planted other churches in Manhattan, before he co-founded the Gospel Coalition, before he co-founded a worldwide church planting movement, he pastored West Hopewell Presbyterian Church right down the road.

18:39That was his first pastorate assignment in our presbytery. Here's a quote from him that I think is really helpful. It's on the front of your bulletin. The only distinction that divides humanity now is between the proud and the humble. That's the only one that counts. It's the only one that matters. Are you willing to say, Lord Jesus, I am not worthy? You don't owe me a good life. You don't. You owe me nothing but wrath. The minute that happens, he rushes in to eat with you.

19:25That's Christianity. That's the gospel. The centurion sees this. He knows it. He recognizes it. And that is what Jesus sees too. And he commends that as faith. The posture of humility. God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. But listen, even though the centurion knows he doesn't deserve anything that is not worthy, he still asks Jesus for rescue. Not on the basis of what he deserves, but on the basis of something different, on the man that he is talking to, on Jesus' mercy.

20:04I plead with you, Jesus, on the basis of your mercy, not on my merit, that you would do something. Say the word and let my servant be healed. He has the attention of the only one who can help. He wants his servant healed and there is no one else who can do it. One time Jesus was doing some teaching. This is in the book of John. He's doing some teaching and it really offends some people. People are confused. They're offended. Even people who were among his big group of disciples start to leave him.

20:39That's what the text says. He turns to his 12 apostles and he says, Do you want to leave too? Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God. Don't you just love Peter? Peter, he's not denying how hard it is that what Jesus just said. He's not denying how hard it is to follow Jesus sometimes. How it's costly. He doesn't deny any of that.

21:14He's just saying, look, there's no one else that we can go to. You're the only one that has the words of life. So I don't understand everything you just said, Jesus, but I'm in. I'm all in.

21:28The centurion put his need forward because he knew that no one else could do it. Dear friends, don't neglect to ask Jesus for what you need. He is the only one who can help you. And then after he asks, he trusts God's power. He trusts Jesus' power. He says, I too am a man set under authority with soldiers under me. He's saying, look, Jesus, I'm a military man. I understand. Authority makes sense to me. I'm under authority, and there are people that are under me in authority.

22:03I know that my word makes soldiers move about here and there. Do this and do that. So I know that your word can heal my servant. You don't even have to come in the house, Jesus. Jesus, I know that your word can do it. Just like my word can make things happen, your word can make things happen. Now, this logic is easy to follow, but remember, we're talking about an illness in someone's body. Think about the amount of faith that's taking in him. To think, the same way that I can tell a soldier to go from here to there, you can, the centurion probably doesn't even understand physiologically what's happening to the servant, right?

22:43He just knows whatever's going on in here, Jesus can tell it to leave. That's remarkable, right? The same way that we ask someone to go from here to there, take that illness, Jesus, and cast it out. You can do it. That is a real trust in Jesus' authority. Now, I'm glad that we have here not just what the centurion said, but what Jesus did in response. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him. It takes a lot to astonish Jesus. There's only two places in the whole Gospels where this word marveled is used, in the whole Gospel.

23:23And the other example is he's marveling at someone's unbelief. So this is the only example of him marveling at something positive, in the whole Gospels. Jesus is stunned and amazed. He's found nothing like this. Among even the Jews, people who have been expecting the Messiah, even among people who have been following him and listening to him, he's not seen this. All these things that Jesus heard from the centurion, the humility to admit his unworthiness, the request to meet the need and the trust in Jesus' power, he commends this as faith.

23:59This is faith, he says. So friends, as you think about this, as you read this account and you think about the centurion, which of these characteristics do you feel like is lacking for you? Where do you want Jesus' help in your life? Is it the humility? Do you need a deeper awareness of how holy God is and how undeserving you are?

24:29Look, it's good to be humble even after you come to Jesus and you believe in him. It's good to be humble. Listen, Jesus is not trying to make you grovel at his feet while he cackles over you, okay? That is not our Savior. But there is a truthfulness to acknowledge the gap between him and us. For that to be the abiding truth in our relationship and not to treat him like someone that we can barter with.

25:00Maybe it's the trust that you feel like is lacking. Do you doubt that God can really bring redemption in some places in your life? He can do it. He can do it. Ask Jesus to help you with the trust, to help you believe, to show you again how strong his power is, how much authority he has. Or maybe it's the asking. Maybe you've gotten tired of bringing your needs up because of the pain of the unmet longings. I want to encourage you to go again. Bring up your needs.

25:35Ask him. Just like the centurion did. No matter where you are, look to Jesus. He's the founder and the perfecter of our faith. He came to meet your need even before you knew what those needs were. He wants you to ask him for intervention. His word can be trusted. He will do everything that's promised to finish what he started in you. And on the cross, we see how great the gap is and exactly what he did to close it. The gap was huge. It was so huge it required the atoning death of a perfect son to close it.

26:17The passage ends on a happy note. The crowd goes back and the servant is healed. Just as the centurion believed Jesus healed from where he stood. The wonderful thing about the ministry of Jesus is that we don't have to be worthy. You don't have to be worthy. He wants us to come as we are, to admit how we are, and let him meet us with his mercy. God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. And God has more grace to give. So which one do you want to be?

26:54The proud or the humble? The one that he opposes or the one that he gives mercy to? That's the choice before all of us. Let's be humble. Let's ask him for rescue and let's trust him. Pray with me.

27:13Lord, it takes a heart change for us to be humble. And Lord, I acknowledge that I and I'm sure other people here, we struggle with feelings of entitlement. That you owe us something. And Lord, that gets revealed in my heart when something doesn't happen the way I want it to, and I begin to get resentful towards you. Lord, that's just a posture of entitlement. That's a posture of thinking that you owe me something. But the truth is, God, is that even though you don't owe me anything, you've given me and others here great, great things.

27:54You've given us salvation in your name. You've given us your grace. You gave us far beyond what we thought we deserved. Lord, help us to be humble. Help us to bring us, to bring you our needs and to trust you. Lord, humility is something that can only come by the working of your spirit in us. Help us to be those kinds of people. Jesus, we pray this in your name.