Join us for the following celebration of life gatherings. Nancy Zook, June 4th at 3:00 p.m. Bev Crabtree, Tuesday, June 9th at 2:00 p.m.

Dena Heckman, Sunday, June 7th from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. In the graveyard. This will be a time for friends to come together to celebrate Dena, remember fun moments, and her wonderful sense of humor. Join us after the service in the cafe to hear an update from Brandon and Amy Wortman on their work at Chico State and Butte College.

Learn how God is at work in California and how you can pray for them. Light lunch will be provided. If you are an usher, reader, or prayer room volunteer, or would like to join one of these ministries, please meet with us on May 24th after the service in room 102. This annual gathering helps us align as a team so we can serve with one voice and spirit. Thank you for serving.

Your role is essential. Family Camp 2026 reservations are open for August 13th through 17th at Waterloo County Park on the Santiam River. RV and tent sites are available. Register for two, three, or four nights by churchcenter.com.

There are only three sites left, so sign up soon. A link is included in our weekly e-news. For questions or help, contact Randy Trout. On Saturday, June 6th from 8:00 a.m.

To 11:00 a.m., we are hosting our eighth annual community car show and canned food drive, and we need volunteers. Starting today and each Sunday through May 31st, Rick Bradley will be in the breezeway to answer questions and help you sign up. We are pleased to announce that we are on schedule to begin phase one of our worship center remodel project on June 1st.

Phase one includes a new men’s room and a new family restroom in the northwest corner of the building. We intend to complete both phases, including the new women’s restroom, before September. If you have any questions, please let the office know or contact Randy Trout. You can still contribute financially to the project by making a designated donation to the facilities fund, either by check or online. Again, we are glad you are with us this morning.

Let’s join together in worship. >> Good morning. Please stand and join us as we make a joyful noise together. >> Crowned with many crowns the king who left his throne creator of the universe born to the world he holds and with that first strong breath the word has become flesh Immanuel has come to us all crown him all Crowned him the Lord of heaven one with the Father one with the Spirit through him him from yonder glorious throne to thee be endless praise for thou for us has died be thou Lord through endless days adored and magnified Majesty Lord of all let every Let every throne before him fall. The King of kings, oh, come adore our God who reigns forevermore.

Crown him the Lord of life who triumphed o’er the grave and rose victorious in the skies for those he came to His glories now we sing who died and rose on high who died eternal life to bring and lives that death may die. Majesty, Lord of all, let every throne before him fall. The King of kings, oh, come adore our God who reigns forevermore. Crown him with many crowns the Lamb upon his throne. Our vows of heavenly and earthly sounds amuse him >> As we worship this morning, I’m going to read from Psalm 147.

Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. How beautiful it is when we sing our praises to our glorious God. For praise makes us lovely before him and it brings him such delight. How great is our God.

There is absolutely nothing his power cannot accomplish. He has infinite understanding of all things. Sing Hallelujah. Sing songs of thanksgiving to the Lord. Let us sing our praises with melodies overflowing.

A thousand Hallelujahs. >> Who else would rocks cry out to worship? Whose glory taught the stars to shine? Perhaps creation longs to have the words to sing. But this joy is mine.

With a thousand hallelujahs, we magnify your name. You alone deserve the glory, the honor, and the praise. Lord Jesus, this song is forever yours. A thousand hallelujahs and a thousand more. Who else would die for our redemption?

Whose resurrection means our rise? There isn’t time enough to sing of all you’ve done. But I have eternity to try. With a thousand hallelujahs, we magnify your name. You alone deserve the glory, the honor, and the praise.

Lord Jesus, this song is forever yours. A thousand hallelujahs and a tongues. Praise to the Lord, to the Lamb, to the King of Heaven praise. For He rose, now He reigns, and we will sing forever praise to the praise. Praise.

For He now He reigns, and we will With a thousand hallelujahs, we magnify Your name. You alone deserve the the honor and the Oh, Jesus, this song is With a thousand the thousand Praise to the >> With a thousand hallelujahs, we magnify your name. You alone deserve the glory, the honor and the praise. Lord Jesus, this song is forever yours. A thousand hallelujahs, a thousand more.

I just want to speak the name of Jesus over every heart and every mind. Cuz I know there is peace within your presence. I speak Jesus. I just want to speak the name of Jesus. Till every dark addiction starts to break.

Declaring there is hope and there is freedom. I speak Jesus. Cuz your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life.

Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. Burn like a fire. I just want to speak the name of Jesus. Over fear and all anxiety.

To every soul held captive by depression. Oh, I speak Jesus. Cuz your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life.

Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. Burn like a fire. Your name is power. Your name is healing.

Your name is life. Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. Burn like a fire. Shout Jesus from the mountains.

Jesus in the streets. Jesus in the darkness over every enemy. Jesus for my family. I speak the holy name. Jesus.

Shout Jesus from the mountains. Jesus in the streets. Jesus in the darkness over every enemy. Jesus for my family. I speak the holy name.

Jesus. Your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows.

Burn like a Your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. Burn like a >> I just want to speak the name of Jesus over every heart and every mind.

Cuz I know there is peace within your presence. I speak Jesus. >> Amen. >> There is no name above Jesus on earth, under the earth, anywhere. He is the name above all names.

>> You were the word at the beginning. One with God the Lord most high. Your hidden glory in creation now revealed to you our Christ. What a beautiful name it is. What a beautiful name it is.

The name of Jesus Christ, my king. What a beautiful name it is. Nothing compares to this. What a beautiful name it is. The name of Jesus.

You didn’t want heaven without us. So Jesus, you brought heaven down. My sin was great, your love was greater. What could separate us now? What a wonderful name it is.

The name of Jesus Christ, my King. What a wonderful name it is. Nothing compares to this. What a wonderful name it is, the name of Jesus. What a wonderful name it is.

The name of Jesus. Death could not hold you. The veil tore before You silenced the boast of sin and grave. The heavens are roaring the praise of your glory. For you are raised to life again.

You have no rivals. You have no equals. Now and forever God, you reign. Yours is the kingdom. Yours is the glory.

Yours is the name above all names. Who else is worthy? There is no one. Only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy?

Who else is worthy? There is no one. Only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy? There is no one.

Only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy? There is no one. Only you, Jesus. Lamb of God, anointed one, who was and is and is to come.

Seated on the throne above. Holy, holy, righteous one who shed His blood. You proved to us the Father’s love. Jesus Christ, be lifted up. Holy, holy, Lamb of God, anointed one, who was and is and is to come.

Seated on the throne above. Holy, holy, righteous one who shed His blood. You proved to us >> Gracious king of Heaven, we thank you that you have brought your word to us. We thank you that you spoke through prophets. You spoke through people to bring your word.

But that wasn’t all. You, the very word, became incarnate. Jesus, thank you. Thank you for coming to this earth. You who are above all angels, all principalities, all dominions.

Thank you for coming and being our king. You alone are worthy. We pray that this morning we would be reminded and renewed in that truth that you alone are our authority, our king, and our God. We ask that you would speak to us through your Holy Spirit from your word. Open our hearts and minds in Jesus’ mighty name.

Amen. Thank you. You may be seated. Kids are welcome to take off for kids church. Thanks for joining us.

And the rest of us will be in Luke chapter 7. We’re in a series through the Gospel of Luke called Jesus came for you. In our passage this morning, we’re looking at a time when Jesus had a very unique encounter with a Roman Centurion. This was a military officer at that time. And something you notice about, especially in Luke’s Gospel, is Jesus is constantly reaching out to what many would have considered the outsiders of that time.

The outsiders. The insiders were often the guys who didn’t get Jesus. They wanted to argue about this rule and that rule. They wanted to dispute Jesus at every turn. But it was the outsiders who got Jesus, and they were drawn to him like a magnet.

And here we see what happens when a Roman Centurion finds out about Jesus. Now, this was a guy who had authority. He was used to calling the shots. But he shows this amazing humble faith. And and the incredible thing is that Jesus says that he is amazed by this man’s faith.

He’s amazed. You know, just how cool would it be to know that you, because of your response to Jesus, he was amazed by you and how you responded. The Bible only gives us two times that Jesus was amazed. Happens once in Mark 6. It’s when Jesus goes to his hometown of Nazareth and he’s there with all these people he grew up with, these people he went to school with, and it says that he was amazed at their unbelief.

They had zero confidence in Jesus. But then he comes and he sees this foreigner, this Gentile, and he’s amazed by his belief. So, I want us to see that this Roman Centurion we’re looking at this morning, he is an example for us. He’s a model for us because he sees who Jesus really is. We talk about having great faith, but really it’s not about us being great, it’s about seeing Jesus as truly great, seeing him as he is, as God.

Jesus is Lord. It’s seeing that in Jesus you have everything you truly need found in him. It’s about seeing Jesus as having all authority in heaven and on earth. And then when you have that kind of faith, the Bible says that is great faith because it’s in the right person. So, what is faith?

Well, the Bible says faith is the assurance of things hoped for. It’s the conviction, what you know in your soul, what you know in your heart. It’s the conviction of things not yet seen. Now, that doesn’t mean that faith is blind. Some people will say things like that, like faith is this blind leap into the dark.

Actually, no. If you are putting your faith in something, it’s because you know it’s trustworthy. You you Faith is putting your trust in what you can’t see based on what you can see. It’s not a leap into the dark, it’s a step into the light. And as we see in this story, we see what true faith really looks like in this Roman Centurion, because he saw Jesus as he really is.

Here’s the big idea this morning. Even Jesus is amazed by radical, humble, God-fearing, Christ-exalting faith. Jesus is amazed at this man’s faith. Would you stand for the reading of God’s holy and perfect word this morning? This is Luke chapter 7.

It says in verse 1, “After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now, 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. And 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 us 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 just say the word and let my servant be healed. For 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. Thank you. May be seated. So, this story takes place right after Jesus has finished his sermon on the level. Jesus was basically fully rejected by his hometown of Nazareth.

So, he’s now set up his base camp in Capernaum, right by the Sea of Galilee there. It’s a fishing village. And more than likely he is a long-term guest at the home of his buddy Simon Peter. And Luke tells us there’s this popular centurion in Capernaum who has this servant, or could be slave, the word is doulos, that is sick. He’s on the verge of death.

He is at the the point where he is going to be dying. And this is a reminder for us. When we see this in the Bible, we see someone is about to die, that’s a reminder for us that the centurion’s servant was in a situation that one day we all are going to face. Every single one of us. This is a reminder for us of our own mortality.

Somebody said once that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes. So, it’s good to remind ourselves of that. It doesn’t matter if you’re a barista, it doesn’t matter if you’re a billionaire, it doesn’t matter how much you own in this life, it doesn’t matter how many friends you have, it doesn’t matter how many people want you to stay alive, at some point everybody dies. It doesn’t matter how many whole grain, plant-based, nutrient-dense foods you eat.

And we do love eating those, but it’s not going to stop death from coming. It’s going to come for all of us unless Jesus comes first. The Grim Reaper is coming for us. I’m just here to cheer you up this morning. The Bible calls life a vapor.

It’s like a mist. It’s there. It’s wonderful. It’s beautiful. It’s precious.

We love life, and then it’s gone. The Bible compares it to like a a flower. Your life is like a flower. It starts so small like a seed and it grows up and it comes to full bloom. It’s beautiful.

It’s awesome. But then it starts to wither. And pretty soon it fades away and it’s no more. But here’s what we need to know about death. This is not the way it’s supposed to be.

This is not the way it’s supposed to be from the beginning. In fact, the Bible doesn’t say that death is your friend. It calls it the last enemy that will one day be destroyed. It is an intruder into God’s good world. It’s not how God set up everything at the beginning when he called everything very good.

It’s because our first parents, the Bible says, rebelled against God’s authority and because of that, Romans 5 says death came into the world through sin. Okay, so are you ready for some good news? The good news is that God did not leave us in this dilemma. He didn’t leave us so that all we do is we live and then we die. He came to this world and because Jesus died in our place, he defeated death for us.

He rose from the dead. He proved he’s capable of saving us from death. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. All who believe in me will live even though they die.” That is really good news.

And in this story, we see that Jesus cares not only for those who are spiritually sick, he cares not only for the souls of people, he cares about our physical well-being. Because this man, this servant, is on the verge of death and he’s sick and Jesus cares. In your notes, we should not we should never cease to be amazed at the power of the gospel. We should be amazed that God was willing to save us. We should be blown away that our God who made us, loved us enough to die for us, to save us from everlasting death and hell.

We should be astonished that though we deserved endless separation from him, he came into this world and he did everything necessary to reconcile us to him, fully restore us into fellowship with him so we could be with him forever. When people ask me what my favorite thing about being a pastor is, I am quick to say it’s seeing lives transformed by Jesus. Bar none, that is the coolest thing. Early in our marriage, Whitney and I served in the church’s youth group that we were part of and I remember this one kid named Ben who showed up and I could tell right away Ben was a kid that had a wall up. He came from an unchurched background, his family didn’t go to church, he was invited by a family at our church and in discussion times, I remember we would have these table discussions and he you know, he dressed in all black and he sat there with his arms crossed, his hair was kind of hanging over part of his face and he would not engage.

We tried to talk to him, we tried to tell him Jesus loves him and he just kind of fold his arms like, I don’t care. And I could see that there was nothing I could do personally to get through to him. But the amazing thing is Ben kept coming back. And over time, I saw he started to open up just a little bit slowly but surely he was opening up more and more. I know it was only the Holy Spirit that did that.

But I remember one time he said, “Jason, if God knows everything, that means that I can talk to him about anything.” I was like, “Whoa. Whoa. Where did that come from? Where is Ben and what have you done with him?”

he was he was talking in a new language. Suddenly things were starting to click. Everything started to make sense and later that year he asked our youth pastor if he could get baptized. And it was cool because at his baptism he said that his best friend is Jesus. Such an awesome story to see the change in life.

Now, early on in the that first year or so, if you had watched Ben, you would think this guy he doesn’t care about Jesus. He doesn’t care about what I’m saying to him. He’s not listening. He doesn’t even want to engage at all. But God, I can’t explain it.

God has a timing and purpose for how he gets through to people. And sometimes it takes a very long time. Sometimes it surprises us how quickly. But he does work and the the power is not in the person talking to that person. It’s in the message itself.

The Bible says the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. And so it’s in the power of the message itself. See, if you consistently tell others about Jesus, you will find that God will use your words and your love to ignite hope in others. It will happen. As you tell people the message of salvation, suddenly things start to happen.

Walls come down, hearts open up, and minds understand. This Centurion needed hope. He loved his servant. He cared about him. He wasn’t just a cruel master that put, you know, replaced that servant with another one.

Just get another guy in there. No, he cared about this guy. And he knew he needed help. Notice the wording. It says, “When he heard about Jesus.”

That’s when he sent for him. Well, let’s not miss the obvious here. Somebody had to tell this Centurion about Jesus. It says he heard about him. In other words, he wasn’t there to witness Jesus doing miracles.

He wasn’t there at one of the Jesus’ sermons. He He didn’t witness Jesus teaching. Somebody told him about Jesus. That’s why this story is in the Bible. That’s why this life was transformed because somebody engaged him and said, “Let me tell you about this guy named Jesus who’s changed my life.”

So, let me ask you, are you still amazed by the power of the gospel? Has it fully sunk in? Has it amazed you to the level where even now you recognize it’s all because of Jesus that I’m where I am today. It’s all because of his gospel that my life has been changed. The devil would love for Christians to stay in their little holy huddle and, you know, open up about their faith with other Christians, but then for the rest of their lives never talk about Jesus.

He would love if that was the case. He’s okay with Christians talking to each other as long as we don’t bring the message to others. Sometimes I sense God asking me that question. Does your heart still break for the lost? Do you still feel that urgency that there’s people everywhere you go in the world today, all over the place, people living out their lives and and do you try to convince yourself that they’re going to be okay without Jesus?

Because they’re not. Listen, heaven and hell are real. Judgement day is coming. And if we are not reconciled to the King of kings, we are going to have an endless separation from God. That is what the Bible teaches.

So this is the urgency of the message. This is why we need to have this missional mindset. We are here because people need Jesus. That’s why the church exists. That’s why we have the Holy Spirit empowering us, mobilizing us, giving us words to speak.

It’s why the fruit in our lives matters so much because we are not here just to live it up and live out our our own existence. It’s for living for Jesus. It’s for making the message known. This centurion, you think about him, he had a history. He was a battle-hardened man.

He was known for going on missions. This was Centurions, to get to this rank, you would have gone on missions, you would have been given tasks and assignments. So he understood what that was like. And in the same way, God himself came on a mission. It was a mission of love.

He came to this earth to save and rescue a people. Jesus said he came to seek and save the lost. So do we see ourselves as part of this same mission? Do we recognize that if we follow Jesus and he’s here to seek and save the lost, then we better be about that same mission ourselves? This last week there were two guys here installing storefront doors in the ministry center.

And I just sense God urging me to to go talk to them. So I I greeted them and I said, you know, I know you guys are in the middle of doing a job. Can I just ask you a question? They said, “Sure.” And I said, you know, you’re here installing doors.

Let me ask you, do you know the guy who once said, “I am the door.” And they said, “No, no, never heard of that.” I said, “That was Jesus Christ, actually.” And and he said, “Really?” One of them was kind of taken aback, like, “That He said that?

I didn’t know that.” I said, “Yeah, you guys you’re career is installing doors, so I figured you should know Jesus said, ‘I am the door.'” And he meant he’s the only door to salvation and eternal life. You know, who knows what God will do with that? But, what I can tell you is that the power is in the message.

This centurion heard about Jesus. And so, he sent these Jewish elders. This would have been the religious guys of this town. He sent them because he knew they must have a connection with this rabbi named Jesus. In your notes, the gospel amazes the religious because it’s all about God’s mercy, not our merit.

It’s all about God’s mercy, not our merit. We see this over and over with Jesus. He is merciful to the lost. He shows compassion to the hurting, the sick, the marginalized. Notice verse 4 says the elders came to Jesus and pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy.”

Now, note that phrase. “He’s worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he’s the one who built us our synagogue.” One cool thing is that if you go to Capernaum today, you can still see the foundation of this very synagogue that the centurion had built. That’s one of the amazing things about scripture is you can go to these places. You can go to places the Apostle Paul went.

You can go to places Jesus walked and talked, and the evidence is everywhere that these things really did happen. But, notice what’s going on here. These religious guys are there to say, “We have a case to make for why you, Jesus, should heal this centurion’s servant.” Which is really kind of amazing. You think about it, there’s a lot of amazing stuff in this story, but it’s amazing that Jewish people would be vouching for a Roman centurion.

This was kind of unheard of. The Roman Empire was basically to the Jews, this was the evil empire. These were the guys who were here to to stomp on our way of life. They were intruders. If anything, they would be saying, “Jesus, please don’t heal the Gentile.”

And yet because of the centurion’s character, I believe, these these Jewish people were so impacted by his kindness, by the way he had treated them, that they wanted to help him. And they say, “He is worthy.” Sometimes people will speak like that today. One recent survey showed that of those who do believe there is a heaven, 95, over 95% actually, believe that they’re going there. Which is not really that surprising, but I think when you find when you find this when you ask the question, “Why is it that you believe you’re going to heaven and not the other place?”

The response usually goes something like, “Well, I’ve done a lot of good in my life. I’ve tried to help people. I’ve given to charity. I’ve given to my church. I’ve contributed in all these ways.

You know, I put the shopping cart back in the corral. I I do a lot of good.” Or maybe it’s I’m certainly better than other people, right? I’m not a racist. I’m not a bigot.

I’m not a murderer. So, therefore, if you look at my life compared to others, yeah, of course I would go to heaven. This is how the religious guys thought. They say, “Look, this centurion, he’s done so much good for others. He’s a good guy.

Look at what he’s done. He’s He’s built the synagogue for us. He’s cared for us as a people. You owe him, Jesus. He deserves this.

He is worthy.” But what shocks religious people is to learn that God has never saved anybody because of what they’ve done. He has never rescued anyone because of their goodness or because of their merit. And praise God for that. Because if it was based on what we deserve, then we would all be without hope.

You know, sometimes people will say things like I just wish God would be fair with me. I don’t think they know what they’re asking. We don’t want God to be fair in that sense. We don’t want God to give us justice. We don’t want God to give us what we deserve.

We want something called grace. Grace is God setting his unconditional unearned undeserved love on people who are morally unworthy of it. And saving them through the purely by his mercy, not by their goodness. In Ephesians 2, we read about the fact that all of us were once living as rebels, just going our own way. It says we were in big trouble.

And then Paul says this, but God, that’s the interjection, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. Then he goes on in verse 8, he says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that nobody can boast.” Jesus will emphasize the same truth all through Luke.

You think about the stories Jesus told, the tax collector and the Pharisee. It’s the tax collector who says, “God be merciful to me, the sinner.” He goes home justified unlike the Pharisee. And then there’s the prodigal son who’s rejected his dad, totally been a horrible son, and he comes back and he’s warmly embraced by his father. These are pictures of grace.

They remind us that God is merciful to the undeserving. See, the gospel contradicts our basic intuitions about fairness. And because it does, it’s the greatest news on Earth. So, that was the Jewish elders. These guys looked at the Centurion and they said, “He deserves to be helped.”

But listen to how the Centurion responds. Again, Jesus he’s willing to go to this man’s house. That would have been a bit of a cultural taboo, but he’s willing to go there, but he stopped on the way. The Centurion sends friends to say, “Wait, you don’t need to come here.” He says in verse 6, “Lord, now how interesting is this?

A Roman Centurion who’s supposed to say, “Caesar is Lord.” is here calling Jesus Lord. And he says, “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 just say the word and let my servant be healed.” The elders have just gotten done saying to Jesus how great this man is, how he deserves the help, and the Centurion says, “Don’t come, Lord.

You You need to understand something. I am not worthy to have you at my house.” He goes on to explain how he really sees Jesus as Lord. In your notes, it’s amazing that a Roman Centurion can model godly authority. It’s incredible to see this.

Now, we need to understand Centurions to get to this rank had to do quite a bit. So, this is an officer who would have commanded roughly 100 soldiers at this time. He’s made a living giving orders to others. According to the historian Polybius, to become a Centurion, first of all, you had to prove that you would, no matter what, follow the orders of your superiors. You did not question them.

You never questioned your allegiance to Rome. You also had to prove your worth in battle. The to get to the rank of Centurion, you had to be capable of leading others in battle. You had to prove that you were willing to put others to death with the sword. You had to prove that you were willing to stand in the face of death and not back down, not run away, but to face your enemy head-on.

So, this is one tough guy. Picture a Navy SEAL who has been in the trenches of warfare. He’s had his life in danger. He didn’t back down. He’s commanded troops.

He’s conquered enemies in battle. He’s physically well-built, and he probably has battle scars all over his body. Too often people think that tough guys or combat vet combat vets don’t need Jesus. There’s this caricature that, you know, if you’re this tough guy, you’re you’re going to be independent, you’re going to be macho, self-sufficient. You’re not going to want to hang out with a Jesus who cuddles lambs, right?

Isn’t that the caricature? But, see what most tough guys don’t realize is that Jesus is the toughest guy of all. So, yes, he was tender with the hurting. He was compassionate with the sick. But, let’s not forget Jesus once made a whip.

A whip! And drove people out of the temple because of the desecration they were doing. Jesus had times when there was fire in his eyes, when he would come after people and speak truth boldly, when he had put people in their place. And then you got to think of the book of Revelation, when Jesus is pictured riding into battle, leading his troops against the spiritual forces of darkness. And we got to remember that we too are in a spiritual battle every day.

That’s why the Apostle Paul says, picturing a Roman Centurion maybe, says, “Put on the full armor of God.” You got to put it on. You can’t go through this life expecting to be unscathed because you need to know you have an enemy who wants to destroy you, and you have to put on that spiritual armor. You will die. You will be destroyed if you don’t do this.

That’s what he says. The Centurion was a tough military man. But he loved his servant. See, he was tough, but he was tender, also. He cared about people, and he knew he needed Jesus.

Even G.I. Joe needs Jesus. And he makes this statement about how authority works. He says, verse 8, “For 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.”

In other words, he’s saying, “Jesus, I know authority. I come from that world. I know how this works, and I know you have authority. All you have to do, Jesus, is say the word, because you command that level of authority, and it will be done.” It’s amazing that he can say this.

In our world, we are a little nervous about the word authority. It’s kind of a bad word, actually. People don’t trust our political authorities because of the corruption we’ve seen. We don’t trust the media authorities because it’s all biased, anyway. People have trouble trusting the church as an authority because of the hypocrisy they’ve seen, or or maybe because, you know, the church persecuted Galileo.

People have trouble trusting the police as authority because they say, you know, they’re not held accountable enough. We have a very hard time with authority in our culture. But what we need to see, and what this centurion saw, is that there is a good, God-ordained, righteous kind of authority that God has established for his world. We will often complain about government. We’ll say, you know, this is something that they’ve done wrong.

But aren’t you thankful that you don’t live in an anarchy? You know, God has set up his world so that there has to be these authority structures. There has to be people who are leading, people who are in charge, people who are accountable for how they lead. God has established it. Romans 13:1 says, “Everyone must submit to governing authorities for all authority ultimately comes from God.”

And those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. Now, I know it’s unpopular to say, but scripture commands us to submit to the authorities in life wherever we can. Now, we like that word submit about as well as we like the word authority. But what if God is saying this because it’s for our good? What if he so established this world that there’s this authority structure, that there’s people who lead nations, people who lead in in certain capacities in different areas of life, and submission is actually a way of reflecting our ultimate submission to Jesus?

Now, we want to be quick to say we’re not called to absolute submission. We’re not called to submit to those who are calling us to sin. There is a restraint, or there’s a limit to the the of submission. But as a whole, followers of Jesus should be dispositioned or or want to submit where they can. According to the Bible, godly authority seeks the welfare of those they oversee.

So, for instance, church leaders are told they’re going to be held accountable for how well they shepherd the flock. Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” I got to say, I’m thankful that I am a pastor with joy. I’m not groaning.

And and that’s a gift. But, that is something that all of us, on some level, if you are in a position of authority, guess what? There is a higher authority. And so, you will one day have to answer to the highest authority of all. This centurion understood that.

He understood, “This is how God designed the world. There are certain ways that people have to lead and people have to take charge, but ultimately, he’s going to answer to the Lord Jesus.” And he calls him that, the Lord. Notice the centurion is using his authority for good. He wants to bless those under his care.

He doesn’t kick the servant to the curb when he’s sick. He wants to care for them. He wants him to be helped. That is a good use of authority. Notice, he helps fund the synagogue.

Again, he’s using his authority for good. So, let me just remind all of us, in our zeal to condemn bad authorities in life, and there are. This is a sinful world. Let’s not overlook the fact that God has established good authorities for our good. They’re for our good.

And that we should humbly submit to them when we can, out out reverence for God. This Centurion humbly submits to Jesus. He says he’s the highest authority of all. And it says Jesus is amazed. He marvels at this Gentiles faith.

The Greek word means he wondered in amazement. You can just picture Jesus walking along and these guys come up and tell them about what the Centurion said and and Jesus pauses for a moment. And he wonders in amazement. This guy. Now, there’s there’s no Jew that I’ve talked to there’s no none of my countrymen that I’ve talked to that have had this kind of faith, but this Roman Centurion, this guy who’s part of the enemy occupied group that’s in Israel, he’s got more faith in me and he’s more humbly submitted to me than anybody else.

He’s amazed at this Centurion’s faith. And the truth is this Centurion had a bigger view of Jesus than even most Christians today. Because look at him. He says, “Jesus, you can do whatever you want. You have all authority.

You can command even creation. You can tell a sickness to go. You don’t even have to be here. You have that kind of power, Jesus. Just say the word and it’s done.”

Lastly in your notes, Jesus was amazed at the Centurion’s humble faith. And what’s the result of all this? This Centurion showing this faith, showing incredible humility, the result is that his servant is healed. Jesus didn’t even have to see him. He didn’t have to touch him.

He heals him from afar. This is incredible. Some commentators called this the most amazing miracle of all of Jesus’ ministry because he’s not even there to see the guy. And this was before telemedicine. Again, Jesus cares not only about our souls.

He does, but he also cares about our bodies. And he heals this servant in response to the Centurion’s faith. The truth is, whenever you humbly submit to Jesus as the highest authority, when you get low before him and recognize I am accountable in all the areas where I lead and I’m given certain levels of authority, and we all have certain spheres where we’re given a kind of authority, we are accountable to the highest authority. And when we humbly submit to him, he pours out blessings on us. Amazing things happen because it says he gives grace to the humble and he resists the proud.

Those who would wield their authority to abuse, misuse, and hurt others, they will have to be held accountable. They will have to answer to Jesus. Some of you are like the Centurion this morning. You haven’t seen Jesus, but you’ve heard about him. Peter says, “Though you do not see him now, you love him.”

And the good news is that God loves you. He loves you right where you’re at, right now. He did everything necessary. He sent Jesus into this world. He lived the perfect, sinless life.

He died on the cross. The Bible says he was made to be sin for us so that we can be made right with God. He rose from the dead so that all who call on him as Lord will be saved forever. That could be you this morning. You might be here and and you realize, you know what, I need my sins forgiven.

I need to be made right with God. It’s not enough for me to think I’ve done enough good in my past. I’ve I’ve said the right things. I’ve I’ve given to this organization. No, you need to be made right with God through the blood of Jesus Christ alone.

And that requires faith. Faith is the key that unlocks eternal life. So, let me leave you with this question. What’s one faith-fueled mission-focused thing you could do this week out of humble devotion to Jesus? What might Jesus ask you to do?

If he is Lord and he commands your destiny, he gets to call all the shots in your life, what is it he wants you to do? Maybe it’s it’s that neighbor that he’s been wanting you to engage and invite to church. Maybe it’s a co-worker that you’ve been avoiding talking about Jesus with, but you know you probably should mention how much Jesus has impacted your life. And maybe it’s somebody who you’ve been thinking, “I need to visit this person cuz they’re not well.” And Jesus, who is compassionate, would have me visit them.

Maybe it’s not just your words in sharing the gospel, but it’s your words in prayer. Maybe Jesus wants you to pray for somebody specifically and you know you need to do that. Who is it that Jesus puts on your heart? Let’s pray together. Father God, I thank you once more for the gift of life, the gift of Jesus.

I thank you that he is the king, that his authority is perfect, that it is righteous and good, and that all other authorities will answer to him. I pray that you would give us the wisdom to know how to use the authority you’ve given us in life to point others to you. Help us to live on mission, Lord. That you’ve given us a task. We have a gospel in hand that has the power to save people for all eternity, but we have to use that sword of the Spirit.

We have to speak the words you’ve given us. I pray that we would speak that name of Jesus as you give us opportunities. We pray in his mighty name. Amen. >> Would you join us and stand as we sing this last song?

I was just thinking the words of this song are really powerful just like that centurion’s faith. So, whatever you’re facing this morning into this next week let the words of this song embolden your faith to trust God to be faithful. >> Why would I worry when giants come calling my name? My God is so much bigger than the troubles I face. Why would I hunger for power or riches or fame?

My God is so much better than all of these things. I won’t be shaken. I won’t be moved. My God is faithful. His promise is true.

So, I’ll speak to the mountains. Oh, it’s time to move. My God is bigger, better, stronger, greater than you. My enemies scatter cuz they know the battle is done. My God is stronger, the victory is already won.

He died for my ransom and rose up on the third day. Oh, my God is greater than death. Tell them I’m great. I won’t be shaken. I won’t be moved.

Cuz my God is faithful. His promise is true. So, ask me to the mountains. Oh, it’s time to move. My God is bigger, better, stronger, greater than you.

There’s no mountain too high, no valley too low. There’s no fear that I have he doesn’t already know. There’s no problem too big, there’s no weapon too strong. There is nothing for God that’s impossible. >> Amen.

>> Amen. All right. Well, thank you for leading us in worship. We have a car show coming up on June 6th, and Rick Bradley is just looking for some help. If you guys are open to helping him out and just being part of that event, we have sign-ups that are going to be available just outside here afterwards.

And also we have Brandon and Amy Wartman here visiting from Chico State. So they’re going to be with us down in cafe right afterwards. We’ll have a light lunch provided for all of you. We invite you to come join us. I’m going to go ahead and pray for the food while we’re here.

We thank you Father for just the provision of the food we’re about to eat and thank you for Brandon and Amy and just the way you’ve used them in incredible way. We look forward to hearing more of their story, how you have been empowering them by your spirit, Lord, to reach people in the name of Jesus. And we just ask for a special blessing on them as well. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 8,215 words.