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Impressive Manhood (Luke 7:1-10)
15 Plays19 days ago
Sunday Message recorded 30 March 2025
by Senior Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Opening Prayer and Manhood Focus
00:00:06
Speaker
Just appreciate so much those that God raises up. I pray God will continue to raise up more and more leaders, more and more disciples, both men and women, to follow the Lord.
00:00:17
Speaker
But today I want to specifically address manhood.
Defining Impressive Manhood
00:00:21
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You know, how would you describe impressive manhood? Maybe you would describe it with one of the S words that I was thinking about.
00:00:29
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Some people would say, well, a real man has this skill or can do this with his hands. Others would say, no, a real man, it's about his strength, what he can do. Others would say, no, it's not just his strength, it's how smart he is.
00:00:43
Speaker
Or others would say, maybe his salary or his status, or maybe sports, those who excel in sports.
Faith of a Roman Centurion
00:00:49
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You know, the four gospels give several personal close-ups of men, but only one man caused the Son of God to marvel over what Jesus saw within that one man.
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You know, Luke 7, 1 through 10 does not disclose that man's name, but it does tell us that man's occupation. He was a Roman centurion.
00:01:17
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If you've never studied anything about the Roman army, the Roman army was organized into three units.
Role and Depiction of Centurions
00:01:24
Speaker
Legion consisted of 6,000 troops serving together. A cohort was 600 men serving together. A century was 100 men serving together.
00:01:36
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But maybe you would say, what was a centurion like? Well, we don't have to guess because there's a Greek historian. He wasn't a Roman, but he was Greek named Polybius. He wrote in a book called The Histories something about centurions, just to give you a little slice of what it was like back then.
00:01:55
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he He wrote that the centurions were not seekers after danger. No, on the contrary, they were men who could command, steady in action, and reliable.
00:02:08
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They ought not to be over-anxious to rush into the fight, he wrote, but when hard-pressed, they must be ready to hold their ground and die at their post.
00:02:19
Speaker
you realize that the New Testament portrays centurions in a very positive light? if you ever just looked up the word centurion? Go and see what it says about each of those centurions.
00:02:32
Speaker
There's something beneficial to learn from all seven centurions that are mentioned in the New Testament. There was a preacher from the past named G. Campbell Morgan who wrote about seven centurions and what we can learn from them.
00:02:48
Speaker
But I want us today to learn from this man. You know, if there ever was a generation needing just some clarification, some instruction, some mentoring in biblical manhood, I would say it's this generation.
00:03:04
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Now, I'm so thankful for both older and middle-aged and young adult and even our students.
Traits of a Christian Man
00:03:10
Speaker
I'm seeing amazing Christian manhood before my eyes. And so I'm so thankful. I could just list many of you that would fall into that camp.
00:03:20
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But I do believe that today, fathers and grandfathers and youth workers and Sunday school teachers and Awana volunteers, we need to talk about real masculinity.
00:03:33
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And we need to live it out before them. How would you define biblical masculinity? If you were to say a Christian man, what's a Christian man supposed to be like?
00:03:43
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I made a list of the top 10 things I would put on the list and I put these. I think a Christian man should be diligent. He should be responsible. He should be faithful. He should be humble.
00:03:57
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He should be courageous. He should be truthful. He should be caring. He should be generous. He should be patient. He should be wise.
Centurion's Faith in Luke 7
00:04:06
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What I want you to do today as I read through this passage in Luke 7 verses 1 through 10 is to pay attention to the sterling example of manhood presented to us in the centurion of Capernaum.
Mentoring in Biblical Manhood
00:04:19
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Would you stand as I read these verses and then we pray. After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he, that is Jesus, entered Capernaum.
00:04:32
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Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. And when the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.
00:04:50
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And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly saying, He's worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.
00:05:06
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And Jesus went with them, and when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, "'Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I'm 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. For I too am a man under authority with soldiers under me. And I say to one, go.
Personal Growth in Manhood
00:05:33
Speaker
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.
00:05:47
Speaker
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.
00:06:02
Speaker
Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Oh Lord, like I stated earlier, we are living in a day when we need biblical instruction. We need clarification. We need godly mentors who will show us what does it mean to be a man?
00:06:18
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what does it mean to follow Christ? What does it mean to implement biblical truths in our daily life? And so Lord, would you please just use this passage? It doesn't say everything but it certainly says a lot about biblical masculinity.
00:06:34
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And so, Lord, would you speak into the heart of every man, of every student, of every boy, and raise up a generation that will follow Christ till their very last breath.
00:06:48
Speaker
We love you, and we thank you for this time in your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated. I just want to go on record as saying the centurion, this guy wasn't a perfect man.
00:07:01
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So I'm not saying he was perfect. But what I would like to say is he was growing. He was moving. His life was moving in the right direction.
00:07:13
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When I was growing up, when I think I was maybe in junior high, ah remember I looked up to my dad and my dad was taller, so i always looked up to him. My dad was five foot, 11 and a half inches.
00:07:27
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So I got him one day, I said, dad, would you do me a favor? He said, okay, son. I said, would you just stand against this door jam? It's kind of one out of the way that people wouldn't see other than the insiders in our family.
00:07:39
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And I got a chair and I got up there on the chair and I put a mark right where the top of his head was. And from that point on, that was my growth goal. Some of you are saying, what happened? Well, obviously I didn't reach the goal, but anyway, I had something that I was aiming for.
00:07:57
Speaker
In your manhood, do you have anything that you're aiming for? do you ever even think, how am I growing? What am I growing to become? wanna give you five different growth goals that I think, they're sort of like growth areas of life.
00:08:13
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They don't say everything, but they say important things. So let me give them to you real quickly. First, I would encourage you to grow in becoming a man of compassion.
Compassion and the Centurion
00:08:24
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A man of compassion. You know, life can be tough. Probably every man in here would say that to younger students maybe.
00:08:34
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He would say to them, be ready because life will not always treat you really nice and kind and gentle. But if you don't watch it, you know what can happen to a man's heart?
00:08:46
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It can become calloused. It can become cold. And you say, I've been through too many things to speak about compassion. Well, let me just remind you.
00:08:57
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I guarantee you this centurion had been through his fair share of harsh experiences. And yet he was compassionate, wasn't he? I want to review with you three ways that his compassion sort of surfaced.
00:09:11
Speaker
The first way is he was compassion toward frailty. Does it ever touch your heart when you see someone who doesn't have the strength you have? Or do you think, I believe I could crush them?
00:09:23
Speaker
Whenever Jesus was informed about this centurion, the centurion had someone that he was burdened about, his servant.
00:09:34
Speaker
His servant, you see, was sick even to the point of death. And so what was this centurion's attitude toward this very frail, very sick man that had served him perhaps for years.
00:09:49
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Well, let's read it. Look at verse two. Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him.
00:10:01
Speaker
Wow. Highly valued. You know, the Greek word there is a word intamos, intamos. It means precious. It means esteemed. Do you view those who serve alongside you in that way?
00:10:15
Speaker
Do you have compassion on them? Maybe some of them have challenges in their life. But do you have compassion toward their frailty? Lest you think I'm saying something I'm not saying, let me give you the second thing. Second way that his compassion surfaced.
00:10:32
Speaker
His compassion was with firmness. His compassion was with firmness. Look at verse 5. What did they say about him?
00:10:43
Speaker
He loves our nation. Remember who he was. Remember what his role was. This man was a centurion. They were occupying Jerusalem.
00:10:54
Speaker
And so he had to keep people in line. He had to enforce laws. So I got to thinking about this one little statement. It kept going over in my head. And I don't know if it makes sense to you, but it made sense to me. And I thought, this is what I want to say.
00:11:09
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I believe that it is possible to implement administration, to implement even limitation on other people. without injuring your own reputation.
00:11:23
Speaker
In other words, just because you have laws and rules, just because you have to tell people and have people have conversations with people that are hard, it doesn't mean that you don't love them.
00:11:34
Speaker
And if we live well in the role of supervisor foreman or whoever is in, maybe in the role of dad or grandfather, Maybe we could say, you know what? There's sometimes I gotta tell you no.
00:11:48
Speaker
But when I tell you no, it doesn't mean I'm telling you I don't love you. It actually means I do love you. You know, Warren Worsby says that compassion is when your pain is felt in my heart.
00:12:02
Speaker
Is that the way you feel? Whenever you have to be firm, do you still feel the pain of it all? The other thing is, I think his compassion was also so obvious I think his friends knew it.
00:12:15
Speaker
Would you want to be friends with somebody who's compassionate? When you tell them what's going on in your life, it just draws them over there. Well, notice that the group that the centurion sent, what are they called? Soldiers?
00:12:29
Speaker
They're not called soldiers. It says the centurion s sent friends saying to him, Lord, do not trouble yourself for I'm not worthy to have you come under my roof.
00:12:41
Speaker
Wow. You mean it's actually possible to be a strong man, a man of strength, of genuine masculinity, and yet at the same time have love?
00:12:53
Speaker
Let me share a ah scripture passage with you that kind of spells it out for me anyway. 1 Corinthians chapter 16 verses and Corinthians chapter verses thirteen and fourteen says this Be watchful.
00:13:10
Speaker
Stand firm in the faith. Act like men. Be strong. And listen to the next verse. Let all that you do be done in love.
00:13:24
Speaker
Yeah, you know what? I think it is possible to be manly, but yet at the same time to be caring and loving, to be compassionate. Proverbs 17, 17 tells us why we should be compassionate and loving, because it says in there, it speaks highly of friendship, and it says, a friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
00:13:45
Speaker
Jesus even said one time in John 15, 13, greater love has no one than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends. I'll tell you why. A law enforcement officer puts his uniform on every day. I'll tell you why.
00:14:00
Speaker
Those who have served our military, why they put the uniform on. Because they love our nation just like this guy. You see, love doesn't mean that you're weak and that you're some kind of manby-pamby something or another. No, it doesn't.
00:14:16
Speaker
You know, another centurion that's mentioned in scripture, not just this one, but another centurion in scripture was named Cornelius. And you know what, Cornelius, he didn't know the gospel, but he wanted to know the gospel.
00:14:29
Speaker
And he heard that Simon Peter, one of the disciples, was just down the road. So he sent people and said, I want you to go and ask Simon if he would come and talk to us in my house.
00:14:40
Speaker
I would like for him to come and talk to us. And you know what it says that he did? Here's what it says Cornelius did in Acts 10 verse 24. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and his friends.
00:14:57
Speaker
You see, that centurion also had friends. Do you have friends? I believe that a man of compassion knows I better get some friends. I better have some people that are around me who love me.
00:15:09
Speaker
Let's go
Action in Biblical Masculinity
00:15:10
Speaker
to the second thing. I believe that growing and becoming a man, a biblical man, would also be a man of actions. You know, biblical masculinity is not, it's not passivity.
00:15:24
Speaker
It is not apathy. It is not laziness. Being a biblical man is being a man of diligence, being a man of action, a man that people can count on. You're gonna pull your load. You're gonna do your part.
00:15:39
Speaker
Look at verse three carefully. ah thought I saw within this verse two different ways that this centurion was being a man of action. The first way was he was receptive to what he heard about Jesus.
00:15:55
Speaker
It says when the centurion heard about Jesus, Are you already putting the drum beats and you're trying to keep the Lord from coming into the harbor? Don't do that. Put down the bongo drums and and welcome Jesus to come in to the harbor of your heart and say, Lord, I want to know if you're real.
00:16:15
Speaker
I want to know it. If you do love me, Lord, I want to know it. If you did sacrifice for me, Lord, I want to know it. How did he know? Well, if you were to go back to Luke 4, you would see two references that tell us how this centurion probably came to know.
00:16:33
Speaker
Luke 4.14 says that the report about Jesus went out through all the surrounding country. Luke 4.37 says, and reports about Jesus went out into every place in the surrounding region. I guarantee it went to Capernaum.
00:16:50
Speaker
But what I want you to do is think for a moment, where are we going as a nation? Contrast this centurion who says, i welcome any news about Jesus.
00:17:02
Speaker
With this rising trend of today, whenever people are put on the spot, when people say, I need to know for this poll, what religion, what religion do you ascribe to? Do you know what the fastest growing one is?
00:17:17
Speaker
The nuns. Now, that's not N-U-N. That's N-O-N-E. What I'm saying is, they say, I don't have a religion. I don't need a religion. I don't care about religion.
00:17:28
Speaker
I'm not interested in religion. That's the fastest growing group. As a matter of fact, in 2007, 16% of American adults said we're a nun.
00:17:41
Speaker
We're not gonna say we're a Christian. We're not gonna say we're a Muslim. We're not gonna say we're Hindu. We're not gonna say we're Mormon or Jehovah Witness or anybody else. We're just none. We don't need anything. We don't need anybody. We don't need a faith.
00:17:55
Speaker
Wow, 2007, that was 16%. You know what it was in 2021?
00:18:01
Speaker
29% from 16% to 29%. I'd say that's an increase. This guy was receptive to what he heard about Jesus, but notice the main thing.
00:18:12
Speaker
He was responsive. He was responsive to what he knew about Jesus. He was. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews asking him to come and heal his servant.
00:18:28
Speaker
Yeah, he was diligent. He was a man of action. He was not going to kick it down the road. I wonder how many people come into worship services and they keep making a profession of faith down the road at a little bit longer. Yeah, I'll just, I'll do it next time.
00:18:43
Speaker
Next time. Next time. And that person may have been procrastinating for 30 years, 20 years, 10 years, five years. I don't know. Are you procrastinating when it comes to things about Jesus?
00:18:56
Speaker
Well, this man wasn't. This man was active. He was moving forward in his life. Thirdly, I believe that becoming a godly man would also include being a man of generosity.
Generosity and Values
00:19:08
Speaker
A man of generosity. Look at verse 5. It says, and he is the one who built us our synagogue John MacArthur says in his commentary on this passage that centurions were well-paid,
00:19:24
Speaker
Since it's so far removed, we may think, how what do you mean he was well paid? Well, John MacArthur said more than likely he received somewhere between 3,750 denarii, maybe as 7,500 denarii.
00:19:38
Speaker
maybe as high as seven thousand five hundred denaries So maybe you'd say that doesn't mean anything to me. It didn't mean anything to me either. So what I did was I went into this calculator calculator and it said it can give us the value in our terms in dollars of ancient coins and so forth.
00:19:58
Speaker
So I looked it up. If the man made 3,750, he would making 163,000 per If he 7,500 denarii, he would be making 326,000 year. if he made seven thousand five hundred dinerri he would be making three hundred and twenty six thousand per year But notice something about this man. It doesn't matter whether he made a little or whether he made a lot.
00:20:21
Speaker
See, the Lord is interested in what owns us, not what we own. Is there anything that holds you back? See, biblical manhood is a call to provide, to provide for your family, provide for for God's work, to provide for the community.
00:20:39
Speaker
You know, he was generous even in his volume. You know, like I said earlier, it says he is the one who built us our synagogue. Just him.
00:20:50
Speaker
Most Bible scholars say he did it by himself. It's incredible that this one man sacrificed that much and said, you know what? I will give what I can to help this be built. He was generous in volume, but also he was generous based upon something, based upon his values.
00:21:09
Speaker
What did the centurion value? If you were to look at the whole passage, would you say he valued faith? Would you say he valued Jesus? Would you say he valued God?
00:21:21
Speaker
Well, once again, going to my one of my mentors from a distance, John MacArthur, he said that a synagogue was built for one reason. You know what it was?
00:21:32
Speaker
The synagogue was built for the purpose of teaching scripture. And so John MacArthur said, I don't know how this man developed it, but somehow he grew to the point to where he said, you know what?
00:21:44
Speaker
I believe in biblical truth. And so he wanted to support that opportunity to build that synagogue together. if Can you think of anybody in our day and time, or at least in our lifetime, that's been like this? I mean, in modern times.
00:22:01
Speaker
I can think of several. Even within our church, I got a feeling there's many of you who give sacrificially. Once again, I'm not talking about your income. I'm talking about what you give from what God's blessed you with.
00:22:13
Speaker
For me, I love Chick-fil-A. If you hang around me long enough, you'll be going to Chick-fil-A. Amen. There was a man named Truett Cathy. He founded Chick-fil-A. He died at 93 years of age. But did you know that he was so generous that for 50 years, rather than sitting in a mansion somewhere, you know what he did every Sunday morning?
00:22:35
Speaker
He taught. He taught 13-year-old boys. for 50 years, every Sunday. He gave his time. He gave his heart. He prepared lessons so that those 13-year-old boys would know what it means to be a Christian man.
00:22:51
Speaker
Not only that, they say, if you work for Chick-fil-A, you know what your kids would be a recipient of? A scholarship. He gave away 400 scholarships per year. Someone added it up and said, oh my goodness, do you realize that Truett Cathy and Chick-fil-A gave away $23 million dollars in 35 years?
00:23:13
Speaker
What will they say about us when we're gone? Will they say that we used what we had, our time, our talent, our treasure? I believe that also becoming a godly man would include growing and becoming a man of humility.
Humility in Manhood
00:23:29
Speaker
Was this guy proud? i mean, he's a centurion. He's a commander. So was he proud? You know, verse four tells you what the Jews said about him.
00:23:41
Speaker
Let me review it. Verse four, they said, oh, he's worthy to have you do this for him. He deserves it. But look at verse six. What did he say about himself?
00:23:54
Speaker
Well, this is what he said about himself. He said, I'm not worthy to have you, Jesus, come under my roof. You think sometimes people are proud and they should be like Peter. Remember what it was like when Peter, he was just a rough and tough fisherman.
00:24:12
Speaker
He made a lot of mistakes in his life, like all of us. But do remember when Peter came to know the Lord? When he started following him? Jesus showed him what he could do in his life because that fisherman went out and Jesus said, just put the net down on this side.
00:24:28
Speaker
He put the net down on that side and they couldn't get the net up. It was so full of fish. And he's like, we fished all night. How is this happening? So anyway, they rake them in the boat and there's still fish flopping around just like the sandbass when they make the the water kind of churn up there.
00:24:44
Speaker
So he calls some other guys. They filled up two boats full to the point, it says in Luke, that the boats began to sink. Can you imagine going fishing? and catching so many fish. They said we may ice fish up in Alaska.
00:24:58
Speaker
Man, all right. hope we don't have so much fish that the ice breaks. But anyway, Jesus blessed them so much. But you remember what Peter said when Jesus did that? Did he say, yeah, this is the pathway to success.
00:25:13
Speaker
Now here's what Peter said. Depart from me for I'm a sinful man, O Lord. Has God ever been so good to you that it actually produces humility? I mean, not fake humility, like genuine humility.
00:25:26
Speaker
And you say, oh my goodness, depart from me for I'm a sinful man. The prophet Micah said what he thinks God expects of a man. He said to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with your God.
00:25:42
Speaker
If you're taking notes, why don't you just draw ah downward staircase? I need three steps. I wanna show you the downward the downward movement of the Apostle Paul in humility.
00:25:55
Speaker
I'll give you three passages you can write on your steps. Here it is. First off, in 1 Corinthians 15, 9, the Apostle Paul says, you know what I am? I'm the least of the apostles.
00:26:09
Speaker
That's pretty good, isn't it? I mean, he compares himself to Peter, to John, to the other 12. And he says, you know what? I'm nowhere near you guys. He said, I'm the least of the apostles.
00:26:20
Speaker
But then on the second step, why don't you write Ephesians 3.8? Because he goes a step further down in his own humility of himself. and you know what he says? I'm the least of all the saints.
00:26:32
Speaker
In other words, everybody that's following Christ, I'm the lowest of the low. but Then he goes one more step down. You won't believe it. In 1 Timothy 1.5, he says, i am the chief.
00:26:45
Speaker
I am the foremost of sinners. And he said, you want to look at me? You look at me as the lowest of the sinners. Wow. Are we growing in humility?
00:26:59
Speaker
You know, there was a centurion named Julius who treated the apostle Paul kindly in Acts chapter 27, verse 3. good thing because they actually had a shipwreck. And so some Roman soldiers said, well, if the ship is going down and we're swimming toward that island, the last thing we want are all these prisoners, including that Paul guy over there.
00:27:22
Speaker
So let's put Paul and all those prisoners to death. And you know, somebody stepped in there and went against the grain. They went against the majority. He wasn't trying to be prideful. The centurion named Julius.
00:27:34
Speaker
said, no, you know what? We're not going to touch him and we're not going to touch those other prisoners. And it says that he saved the apostle Paul that day. Would it be said of any of us that we were humble enough to say, Lord, I know, I know you've, you've helped me come to know you for a reason. There must be somebody that you want to use me to save.
00:27:55
Speaker
Let me
Faith's Impact on Jesus
00:27:56
Speaker
give you the last one. he He was also growing and becoming a man of faith. This is what it's really all about, verses 8, 9, and 10. This man is not a rabbi. This man is not even a disciple.
00:28:08
Speaker
This man is nothing but a soldier. Keep in mind who he is and who he's not. He's not claiming to be anybody. He's just saying, you want to look at me? you just look at me as a soldier, as a commander.
00:28:21
Speaker
Yet he grew in becoming a man of faith. not a man of the flesh. If you want the world to teach you how to be a man, they will teach you how to be a man of the flesh.
00:28:34
Speaker
But if you want to really grow in faith, you'll have to hang around Jesus. He will teach you how to be a man of faith. And it's amazing that this man was so full of faith. I want to give you three different views on his faith. The first one is, of course, his statement of faith in verse seven.
00:28:53
Speaker
You remember what he said? He said, well wait, wait, wait, wait. Jesus is coming to my house. Go out there and tell him he doesn't have to do that. Tell him that all he has to do, if he'll just say the word, if he'll just say the word,
00:29:06
Speaker
He's the son of God. He knows what he's doing. He's healed so many. If he will just say the word, he doesn't have to come in my house. I'm not worthy for him to come in here anyway.
00:29:17
Speaker
Wow. That's an incredible statement of his faith. But then I noticed the standing. This centurion knew how authority worked. And so that's what he's doing when he's saying, oh, listen, as a commander, I tell this one, go. And he goes. I tell this one, come. He comes.
00:29:36
Speaker
I tell this one, do that. He does it. He said, I know how authority works. And so what he's saying by implication is, Jesus, I know how you work.
00:29:47
Speaker
And all you've got to do is say it. Man, can you imagine standing in that kind of faith where you say, Lord, you control life. You control eternity. You control circumstances so much.
00:29:59
Speaker
I know you've got the authority. I believe also know that Jesus, it says he marveled. So I wonder if he was surprised by faith. He was surprised by faith. It says he marveled at him. It means amazed.
00:30:14
Speaker
Really? Really? You know, it's amazing that he was so surprised at his faith. And what was amazing was he wasn't a Jew and he wasn't a disciple.
00:30:25
Speaker
This is a Roman commander. And suddenly this man has this incredible faith. you know that the Bible says that Jesus marveled at people's faith two times?
00:30:37
Speaker
This is one time. Write down if you're a note taker, Mark 6, verse. Verse six, Mark six, verse six. The other time he marveled at faith. It actually says marveled at faith was not faith, but he marveled at unbelief. You know where?
00:30:55
Speaker
In his hometown, Nazareth. I mean, to see what God has done in Alyssa Litzer's life, that ought validate every single person here.
00:31:06
Speaker
You know, order to tell us, if you were her Sunday school teacher, you were a youth leader and you saw her grow and develop, in order to help you know, you know what? I'm so amazed at what God can do in a life that's fully surrendered to him.
00:31:22
Speaker
and I believe last of all, he was satisfied. By putting his faith in Christ, he was satisfied. It says, they found the servant well. Yep, he had placed his faith in the Lord.
00:31:36
Speaker
Man, you know, there was another centurion who placed his faith in the Lord. Do you remember who was? Remember at the cross? Remember at the cross? There was a centurion there. And that centurion said this, and Luke wrote it down, says that he glorified God saying, certainly this man, he pointed to Jesus on the cross, certainly this was a righteous man.
00:32:02
Speaker
Man, can you imagine what it cost him to say something like that? at that moment?
Jesus as the Ultimate Manhood Example
00:32:08
Speaker
You know, there was another man in a high position in government with incredible authority over Jerusalem.
00:32:14
Speaker
That man's name was Pontius Pilate. And so Jesus had been falsely accused and brought in there like he was some kind of criminal, brought before Pontius Pilate. So Pilate takes him aside and he cross-examines him.
00:32:28
Speaker
you know what he said in John 18, 38, he says, I find no fault in him at all, like zero. He hasn't done anything wrong. What are you what are you saying? That's what Pontius Pilate said.
00:32:40
Speaker
But the crowd, they were stirred up. And the crowd said, no. Crucify him. Crucify him. Crucify him. So after having Jesus scourged, Pilate presented Jesus before that angry crowd.
00:32:57
Speaker
And you know what Pilate said about Jesus? Remember? Some of you probably know. Here's what he said. Behold, The man. You want to know what manhood is like? You want to know what manhood is supposed to look like at its highest zenith, the greatest of manhood?
00:33:17
Speaker
Just look at Jesus. Behold, the man. He laid down his life for your sins and my sins so that we could go to heaven to be with the Father for eternity.
00:33:30
Speaker
You know, I think there's a question that each man today should answer. Will I leave behind a legacy of biblical manhood to my family, my friends, my church, and my community?
00:33:43
Speaker
Or will I just try to hide it? If we will not define, if we will not display manhood in Christ, then I'm going to tell you what's going to happen.
00:33:55
Speaker
Our culture will define it and display a worldly version of it for our kids and our grandkids. It's time for the men, the men who follow Christ to rise up and to say, you know what?
00:34:10
Speaker
I'm going to follow him. i don't care who laughs. I don't care what rejection is there. I'm going to follow him.
Call to Action and Prayer
00:34:17
Speaker
want to give a time of invitation and give the opportunity for any that need to make a decision for Christ.
00:34:23
Speaker
Our musicians are going to come and they're going to lead us in this last song. And the song says, take my life. That centurion was moving in the right direction.
00:34:35
Speaker
If you're wondering, what is the right direction? The right direction is this, to turn in repentance, to turn to place your faith in the finished work of Christ.
00:34:46
Speaker
To say, you know what? I'm not worthy that he died on the cross for me, but I believe he died on the cross for me. And I will put all my trust in what he did for me, not how much I can do for him.
00:34:59
Speaker
That's why he came. He loves you so much, men. hope you didn't hear me trying to speak down to you. I'm trying to exhort I'm trying to encourage you.
00:35:10
Speaker
I'm trying to say, let's be the men in this generation that God has called us to be. Let's stand together. If you're here and you don't know Christ and you're wanting to take that first step,
00:35:22
Speaker
I can help you with that. Let's pray together. Lord, please bless this time of invitation. May we each sing, Take My Life, and may we mean it from our hearts because you're worthy of life.
00:35:36
Speaker
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
00:35:43
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.