Having Faith For Others
Study Text: Matthew 8
5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came
unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6And saying, Lord, my
servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7
And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8The
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. 9
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. 10 When Jesus heard
it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have
not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11And I say unto
you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12But
the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall
be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13And 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.
"I don’t know what I’m going to do?" We all have probably heard
this statement. A friend gets into a jam or a problem arises and he/she simply
doesn’t know where to turn. So, the friend turns to you, looking for an answer.
This week our text involves this type of scenario. A centurion had a friend
that had a problem he could not solve. Now I say that this servant was his
friend because the centurion went out of his way to get this man healed. He
could have said, "Well servants are a dime a dozen. I’m well-paid , so
after this one dies off, I’ll get another." Instead, he sought Jesus to
heal his servant.
After telling his problem to Jesus, our Saviour offered to go home with the
centurion to heal his servant; however, the centurion, at this point showed
great faith. The soldier told Jesus, "I am not worthy that thou shouldest
come under my roof: BUT SPEAK THE WORD ONLY, AND MY SERVANT SHALL BE HEALED"
(9th). Jesus then acknowledged his faith by stating, "I have
not found so great faith, no, not in Israel" (11th). And in the 13th
verse we see the result of the centurion’s faith: the swift healing (within the
same hour) of his friend.
This is such a tremendous story to me and Veronica because it reminds us to
pray for each of you who receives these messages—-even if you aren’t on our
direct list. Even if you receive these messages third, fourth and fifth-hand,
we blanket you in prayer. We pray for your prosperity and peace. We pray for
the rich mercies of God to be abundant in your lives, and we also pray that He
places a hedge of protection around you. We pray that no manner of evil will
overtake you and that you walk in the divine favor of the Lord. And, even
though we can’t be there with you physically, we do pray for you with the same
faith that the centurion had, believing that when the Lord hears our prayers
then all He has to do is say it and it is so.
Now many of you know that I used to Deejay. Well, I’ve come up with a saying
that characterizes this type of prayer — "Centurion Style For A While
Honey Child!" Even though the Saints of God can not touch and agree, if we
all are on one accord, our prayers will be heard and answered. So now we
solicit your prayers. Continue to pray for this ministry and that it continues
to fulfill its mission: "To Spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout
the world and through you." Continue to blanket us in your prayers as we
continue upward and onward in the mission fields. In October, our speaking
engagements picked up tremendously, and we are also scheduled to share God’s
word in November and December. As a matter of fact, both Veronica and I will be
participating in a youth revival in December, so continue to keep us in your
prayers.
Also, let us not forget those who are lost in sin. I heard Benny Hinn say
this (paraphrasing), "If God places it on your heart to pray for someone’s
salvation do it. Because if He places that desire in your heart, it is His
desire for that person to be saved." We have to understand that on many
occasions it is our faith that is the only bridge out of their land of despair.
God will wake you up at 4:00 a.m. in the morning, and for some reason He will
place your mind on this one person. If this happens, I urge you and I plead
with you to go down in prayer for that person.
Don’t get in the flesh and say, "Well if I do that, I won’t be able to
go back to sleep." There have been several occasions in which I have been
awakened and have been told, "Pray in the Holy Spirit." What
happened? Well the best answer I can give is this— "What didn’t
happen." Of all the bad things that could have happened — they did not.
So at every opportunity for your family members, friends, this ministry and even
people you don’t know, call on our Savior and intercede. Your faith is more
vital to others than you will ever know.
"Centurion Style For A While Honey Child!"