“And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.’ Jesus said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, “Go!” and he goes, and to another, “Come!” and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this!” and he does it.’
faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ x
Journal,
Only two times in the Scriptures does it say that Jesus marveled. One had to do with unbelief in His own hometown. It says,
“And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered [marveled] at their unbelief…” (Mar 6:5-6 NASB)
The other time was with the Roman soldier. Here it says,
“Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled, and said to those who were following, ‘Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.”
This is also where Jesus gives the first prophecy concerning the Gentile nations. He says,
“Many will come from the east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness.”
The outer darkness speaks of loss of covenant relationship. He later tells some of the leadership, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you & given to a people, producing the fruit of it.” (Matt21:43)
There are many truths to be found in this setting. In this case I want to share on the distinction to be seen between great faith and little faith, or having no faith at all. Let’s see what it is that actually makes our faith great.
The place to begin is with…
The Word of the Lord 
The term ‘Word of the Lord’ refers to anything God has said. It has a special emphasis on the Scriptures simply because they came from God’s mouth. The Scriptures are a living Word to God’s people. Cf. Deut. 8:2,3; Jer. 1:12.
In the New Testament the gospel itself is also called ‘the Word (living message) of God.’ Cf. Luke 8:21; 11:28; Acts 4:31. Acts 11:1.
Then there is a related meaning for the term ‘the Word of the Lord.’ This meaning is simply God speaking to His creatures. This can be seen when Jesus bid Peter to come to Him on the water. Cf. Matt 14:25-29.
Put these inter-related meanings together and you get a feel for the meaning of ‘God’s Word.’ The Word of God is God acting directly upon our lives, whether it is our hearing the gospel, or in our reading the Scriptures, or simply having the Lord speak directly into our hearts by whatever means He chooses. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)
A Scripture that explains this is Hebrews 4:12,13, which says,
“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight.”
And so, why did Jesus marvel at the Roman Centurion? Jesus marveled at the Centurion because he recognized who Jesus really was, and this on a level far beyond anything that even the apostles had caught at that time. This is why Jesus marveled! And this is the foundation for learning to live a true walk of faith.
It all centers on hearing from Jesus for yourself, and in…
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Acknowledging His Lordship.
Listen carefully to the language of the Centurion; “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
Listen to it again. See if you catch it: “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
What was the centurion saying about Jesus? He recognized the Lordship of Jesus. He actually called Jesus, ‘Lord.’
Is there any Scriptural support for what the soldier said? Note Psalm 103:19-22.
Who is the One who commanded all things into existence? Now note Psalm 33:6; Col 1:16.
The Working Principle of Faith
Always understand that the written Word and the spoken Word of God must always agree. God did this on purpose, simply because many spirits will try to speak into our lives. Therefore God gives us two safe guards for our walk with Him. Every child of God is given the Holy Spirit as a testifier to truth. Every child of God is given the Scriptures by which the Holy Spirit teaches us God’s ways. Cf. John 16:13-15; 2 Timothy 3:16,17.
The working principle of faith always begins with learning to rightly divide the written Word of God. Cf. 2 Co. 3:3-6,18. Ignore this beginning place and you subject yourself to all kinds of interferences in your faith walk, including your own emotions, and desires.
Those who get in trouble spiritually are almost always those who place esoteric experiences above God’s Word. While dreams, visions, and prophecies, can play a part in our walk with the Lord, nothing is ever to take the place of learning truth from the sacred Word of God. It is a love of truth that will put the believer into a true faith walk. Cf. Jeremiah 23:20,22,28,29; John 14:15,23,24.
And so we come to the crucial element of the walk of faith. Our walk with the Lord will always center on the statement that Jesus made to the Centurion.
As You Have Believed 
The walk of faith is a heart walk. Here is the heart issue of our walk with the Lord.
- Our faith walk will always be in proportion to the place that Jesus occupies in our life. What we receive from the Lord will always be determined by what we are willing to believe. This was the message that Jesus spoke to the Centurion. But what was it the Centurion said that caused Jesus to define his faith as great? Look at it again. The answer is there. Now ask yourself if you can measure up to the Centurion’s faith.
The short side of things is that a true walk of faith requires that we have a real passion for truth. This is what the word godly means. (Godliness literally means God-towardness.) As long as there is an attempt to manipulate God’s Word to meet our life style, or to fit into what we want to believe, we are not walking as godly people. Cf. Psalm50:16-23; 15:1-5.
Godly people always recognize Jesus for who He is. Godly people seek to please the Lord in all things. Godly people hold fast to the Word of the Lord.
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And now for the finishing touch.
There is one more facet that needs to be understood about walking in faith. In the New Covenant it is the Holy Spirit who puts us into direct contact with Jesus. Learn to live by the Spirit and the walk of faith will take care of itself. There is no faith walk aside from Jesus Christ guiding your life. Think about it.
Which brings me to a song that you need to take note of, It is titled, ‘Reaping in The Spirit, by the Isaacs (Acapella)
May the blessings of the good Lord, overflow your life. May your walk of faith be filled with all the sweetness of heaven.
Always in Christ,
Buddy
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