To watch the sermon on YouTube, click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XKkq7RxM3w
Pastor Todd Mac Donald
Theme: Is our belief sincere?
Do we truly believe what we are saying and walking in our Christian life?
Luke 7 New King James Version (NKJV)
6 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. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 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.”
9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and 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!” 10 [a]
The Centurion's faith in Jesus was very great. The centurion was Roman, not a Jew. He was outside of the Jewish faith and nation, yet he believed in Christ's divinity and authority. He recognized Jesus as Lord and believed Jesus truly would heal his servant.
LLuke 6:46-49New King James Version (NKJV)
46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.[a] 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.[b] And the ruin of that house was great.”
Are we willing to lay down everything we have, in order to build on a firm foundation?
When trouble comes in our lives and all is lost, our foundation in Christ will be all that is left.
Luke 7:36-50New King James Version (NKJV)
40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”So he said, “Teacher, say it.”
41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”
And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
Also read Mark 14:3-4
3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. 4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted?
This alabaster jar was this woman's most valuable possession. The sent of the fragrant oil would bring an escape from her sinful life. This woman believed this was the anointing of a man about to die. She believed in Christ with her whole heart and she gave up her sinful past. In the alabaster jar lied the oils she gave up to anoint Jesus, she gave all the wealth she had. She showed the whole world with this deed that she was choosing to follow Christ. Like the Centurion she recognized Christ divinity and knew he was not just any ordinary man.
At the time of Jesus greatest need Peter denied him three times, Christ was left all alone.
The disciples all left Jesus and deserted him out of fear. Peter said he loved the Lord and that he would feed his sheep, yet at the hour of Christ's greatest need he was no where to be found. Today Christ is physically not here, yet he is real and his promise in scripture that he is coming back is true. We need to work on getting rid of the skepticism in our lives.
Do we believe and look for miracles? God does not hint, he has put the truth right in front of us. Christ promised to come back and when he does he is coming back to rule and reign . King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The woman with the alabaster jar and the Centurion truly believed in Jesus they did not care what anyone else thought of them. They were bold they recognized Jesus divinity and authority and serve as examples to us all.
This was an excellent message given by Pastor Todd he closed the service by blowing the shofar-the rams horn-the call to Shabatt Service- Worship of Jehovah
The closing benediction was the Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6: 24-26
24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”’
Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant
7 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving,5 “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”6 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. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 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.”
9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and 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!” 10 [a]
The Centurion's faith in Jesus was very great. The centurion was Roman, not a Jew. He was outside of the Jewish faith and nation, yet he believed in Christ's divinity and authority. He recognized Jesus as Lord and believed Jesus truly would heal his servant.
LLuke 6:46-49New King James Version (NKJV)
Build on the Rock
46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.[a] 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.[b] And the ruin of that house was great.”
Are we willing to lay down everything we have, in order to build on a firm foundation?
When trouble comes in our lives and all is lost, our foundation in Christ will be all that is left.
Luke 7:36-50New King James Version (NKJV)
A Sinful Woman Forgiven
36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”So he said, “Teacher, say it.”
41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”
And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
Also read Mark 14:3-4
3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. 4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted?
This alabaster jar was this woman's most valuable possession. The sent of the fragrant oil would bring an escape from her sinful life. This woman believed this was the anointing of a man about to die. She believed in Christ with her whole heart and she gave up her sinful past. In the alabaster jar lied the oils she gave up to anoint Jesus, she gave all the wealth she had. She showed the whole world with this deed that she was choosing to follow Christ. Like the Centurion she recognized Christ divinity and knew he was not just any ordinary man.
At the time of Jesus greatest need Peter denied him three times, Christ was left all alone.
The disciples all left Jesus and deserted him out of fear. Peter said he loved the Lord and that he would feed his sheep, yet at the hour of Christ's greatest need he was no where to be found. Today Christ is physically not here, yet he is real and his promise in scripture that he is coming back is true. We need to work on getting rid of the skepticism in our lives.
Do we believe and look for miracles? God does not hint, he has put the truth right in front of us. Christ promised to come back and when he does he is coming back to rule and reign . King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The woman with the alabaster jar and the Centurion truly believed in Jesus they did not care what anyone else thought of them. They were bold they recognized Jesus divinity and authority and serve as examples to us all.
This was an excellent message given by Pastor Todd he closed the service by blowing the shofar-the rams horn-the call to Shabatt Service- Worship of Jehovah
The closing benediction was the Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6: 24-26
24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”’
