307 - The Centurion's Faith

307-The Centurion's Faith#

307-The Centurion's Faith

(JP Text Group - Organized by the Little Prince of Heaven)

190324 Centurion's Faith.mp3

Matthew 8:5-13

5 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” 7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” 8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

Let us pray together:

Heavenly Father, thank You and praise You! Thank You for giving us such beautiful words, allowing us to learn from the centurion's faith. He received such faith from Jesus, believing that today we can also receive such faith through Your words, because we believe in the same Lord. As a new week begins, I want to come before You first, to let Your words become my strength. Bless every brother and sister who seeks You, and I commit the following time to the Holy Spirit to personally lead us. In the name of the Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen!

Today's sharing is titled: The Centurion's Faith.

Do you all know what a centurion is? In that era, the Roman administrative system was such that if one had ten subordinates, they were called a decurion; if they managed a hundred people, they were a centurion; if they had fifty, they were a fifty-man commander; and if they had a thousand, they were a thousand-man commander. It is easy to understand that a centurion is someone who has a hundred subordinates.

Today's text is about a Roman officer. At that time, Rome ruled over Israel, and the Israelites actually hated the Romans. However, not all Roman officials were bad; this particular centurion was very good. Reading the Gospel of Luke, we can see that this centurion built a synagogue for the Jews and did many good things for them. This is why when he came to ask Jesus for help, the priests and elders were particularly willing to introduce him.

This was a Gentile Roman officer who not only loved the Jews but also knew about Jesus, which is remarkable. This Gentile had not yet believed in the Lord but had heard about Jesus. There are still many people today who have not believed in Jesus, but they do not oppose Him; instead, they support Him from behind. Such people, God is also willing to open the door for them to know Him. Hallelujah!

This centurion was not seeking healing for himself; he was seeking help for his precious servant who was paralyzed and near death. He could not bear to see his servant suffer from illness, and he had a compassionate heart. He pleaded with Jesus for this sick slave. Almost everyone in the Bible sought help for themselves, but only this centurion, a very rare wealthy Roman officer, did so for his servant. Why do I say this?

Two thousand years ago, during the time of slavery, slaves were treated no differently than items bought in the market. Reading Genesis, we can see that Joseph was sold as a slave in the market, wasn't he bought by an Egyptian officer named Potiphar? Just like buying livestock, one would check the teeth and bones, see how strong they were, and then negotiate the price, marking them with a brand, and they would belong to the buyer from then on.

At that time, slaves were like this. In a situation where slaves were particularly easy to buy, for wealthy people, slaves were merely tools for work. For example, in Roman times, slaves could be made to fight each other in the arena; that's how gladiators came about. They would fight until one was killed, and the survivor would live. Later, when it became boring to watch two people kill each other, they would starve lions, tigers, and bears for days and then have them fight against these gladiators, watching as people were torn apart by lions and tigers. The reason I mention this is to show that at that time, slaves were not regarded as human beings. Moreover, if a slave became paralyzed, it was even worse. Just as today, if a loved one becomes paralyzed, over time, they may be seen as a burden; even more so in that era, where slaves were treated like property.

If you buy a toy for your child and it breaks, what do you do? Do you take it to be repaired? For a few dozen dollars, you just buy a new one. Slaves in that era were that cheap. Moreover, this Roman officer was likely very wealthy, yet he sought Jesus for such a servant. Most people at that time would have simply thrown the slave outside to die. However, we see that this centurion had compassion and love in his heart; he hoped that the Lord Jesus could heal this servant. Why do I share this? Our Lord Jesus comes to heal us and show us mercy, not because we deserve it, but because the Lord is good.

Just like this servant, it is not because he was particularly good and won his master's favor; it is because this master had love. You can believe in Jesus because this Lord is truly good. Once you believe in Him, no matter how you treat Him in the future, He is always willing to show you mercy and support you. When He came to find us, we did not understand all that He did for us. We were sinners living a wandering life, completely disposable.

At that time, the Pharisees and scribes opposed Jesus when He preached the gospel to them, wanting to crucify Him. If it were anyone else, would they care about them? They would be glad to see Him die. Yet Jesus still showed mercy to these people. Brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus loves us so much that He willingly died on the cross for us, cleansing us of all our transgressions, allowing us to have new life in Christ.

2 Corinthians 8:9, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."

Jesus came to change our lives, to have the same abundance as Him. The centurion sought Jesus, hoping his servant could gain new life. Jesus came among us and gave His life for us, all because He loves us. When He loved us, He had already laid down His dignity and face. Can we see this through the centurion?

The centurion was ruling over the Jews; a centurion had to manage a hundred people. Why would he humbly seek Jesus? He could have easily done what some rulers do, bringing Jesus to heal his servant. Isn't that what we see on TV? Some kings and ministers grab someone and say, "You must heal my servant, or you won't live."

But this centurion's heart was filled with love, because of love, he was willing to lay down his dignity and face. Sometimes, between spouses or friends, they can turn against each other over pride, which is actually due to a lack of love. Jesus' dignity and face are great enough, right? Yet He laid all of that down for us, humbling Himself and emptying Himself, as if He were begging us to believe in Him, when in reality, it is because He is filled with love. Amen!

The first point I want to share is that the centurion believed not because he saw, but because he heard about what Jesus had done.

Luke 7:3, "The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant."

Heard of, which means he may not have actually seen Jesus. Have you heard about Jesus? You might say you haven't heard, unless today is your first time hearing about Jesus. When you read the Bible, you see many people receiving God's grace, healing... all of this is because you have heard about Jesus.

What Jesus did in Israel at that time has been recorded in the Bible, which means the centurion had not heard as much about Jesus as you have. At that time, Jesus' ministry had not yet been completed. You know more about Jesus than the centurion did, so logically, your faith should be greater than that of the centurion.

Jesus did not favor this centurion; rather, He did what He did for all people. If we believe, this power will enter us. The centurion sought Jesus without looking at Him through physical eyes, without analyzing whether Jesus had a medical license or if He graduated from a prestigious university, worrying that He might kill his servant... none of that. He simply heard of Jesus, who had healed some people with His words. Jesus never performed surgery on anyone, right? He healed those people with His words; this is the Jesus the centurion heard about, so I hope you hear correctly about Jesus. Amen!

Many people hear about Jesus as someone who punishes the disobedient, that Jesus can fix you in a thousand ways, but in the end, you must return to Him and obey His words. I believe many people hear about such a God, but this centurion is different; he heard about what Jesus had done. Do you remember what else Jesus did?

In previous shares, I mentioned that when John the Baptist had doubts, Jesus told his disciples, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor." The centurion heard only these things. After hearing them, faith arose in his heart. When he looked at his servant, who was already considered incurable at that time, even today, we do not have particularly good methods to make a paralyzed person stand up. It is still the same today, let alone back then.

When he saw this servant and thought of Jesus, suddenly faith arose in the centurion's heart. He wanted to find Jesus, believing that Jesus could heal others and would certainly heal his servant. If the centurion's focus had only been on his servant, he would have lost faith today. Listening to the doctor's test results, this person is paralyzed, and there is no way to treat him; just wait for a miracle to happen. The centurion did not wait; he sought Jesus.

I hope you learn this: when you have a problem, do not just focus on your problem; that will only make it bigger and more troublesome. Leave your problem and seek Jesus. Hallelujah! Thank and praise the Lord! Many people believe only after seeing miracles; such faith is temporary. I believe among us, you have personally seen many miracles, but how long can that faith last? If your faith comes from hearing what Jesus has done, and you believe in His words, your faith will be great.

Matthew 8:7-8, 7 Jesus said, “I will go and heal him.” 8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

It seems there is a bit of a problem. If Jesus said to you today, “Okay! I will go and heal you,” what would be your first action? Clean the house thoroughly, waiting for Jesus to come over? If Jesus does not come today, He is busy, but we must invite Him to our home. This is good; it is good to want to invite Jesus to your home, but the fear is that when there is a problem, you think of inviting Jesus to your home, which limits Jesus' ability.

Many people especially hope that when something happens, a capable pastor will lay hands on them and pray. This is good, but a better way is that you hear what the pastor says about Jesus. No matter where you are or what problem you are in, you can call upon this God; that is the best. Amen!

Jesus said, “I will go and heal him.” Here is a good thing: when Jesus speaks, it is completely different from how we speak. If I tell you today, “We have a paralyzed person at home; you go and heal him,” would you dare to say, “Okay! I will go and heal him”? Let’s not even talk about the results; how many people would dare to say that? Why don’t you dare to say that? Because you lack faith. But do you know whether you are healing him or if Jesus is healing him? Then why don’t you have faith? It is because you do not have faith in Jesus, right?

In other words, when Jesus says, “I will go and heal him,” He has faith in Himself. Should you not have faith in Jesus? You should believe not in your faith but in Jesus' faith. Ask Jesus if He can heal him. If Jesus says, “I can heal him,” the Bible never records Jesus saying, “I will try.” He has never said that; you should believe that Jesus can heal him.

No matter what the problem is now, you can heal him and pray for him in the name of Jesus. Since it is Jesus doing it, you should not worry. Hallelujah! Do not wait to see before you believe; believe that Jesus has already healed him before you pray. Amen!

The centurion's understanding and respect for the Lord Jesus is also a part we cannot overlook. What did he say? “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.” He did not say, “Lord! You go and see my servant; I am embarrassed...” He simply said, “I do not dare to trouble you to go; actually, I have a suggestion: you just need to say a word, and that is enough.”

He expressed to the Lord that he had a humble heart. Not deserving means he knew he was a Gentile and understood how the Jews viewed them. Yet he also knew that Jesus had this love. The centurion acknowledged that he was unworthy of this healing, which is very important.

If he thought, “I am a Roman officer with a hundred subordinates; Jesus must heal my servant,” with such a mindset, you would not receive anything from Jesus. This is why the Pharisees did not receive anything from Jesus; they felt they deserved it, and that is the problem. On the other hand, the centurion was humble before the Lord Jesus.

Why can a person be humble? Because they know who stands before them. Do you know who you believe in? When Paul was old, he said, “I know whom I have believed.” Do you know who you believe in? If you know who you believe in, a humble heart will naturally arise. If you know who you believe in, faith will naturally arise. When you know you believe in the Lord who created the world, you will not act recklessly before the Lord Jesus. Amen!

Do you know that many people are very presumptuous? They call Jesus “Brother Jesus,” saying, “I went to pray with Brother Jesus.” In our view, this is disrespectful. Although He is our elder brother, the Bible never says you can pray in that identity. Does Jesus know who He is? Does He say to the Father, “I went to pray with my brother”? No, that is presumptuous. Why do people dare to do this? It is because they do not know Jesus; it is merely human self-righteousness. Such people find it hard to receive anything from Jesus, which is why the Bible says God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. When a person feels full of themselves, God cannot give them grace anymore. Do you understand?

If you are full inside, how can God fill you with His grace? Unless you feel you have nothing, God can give you what He has. If a person is already filled with self, they cannot receive the power that comes from Jesus. Only the humble see their own lack and recognize that they cannot, acknowledging that Jesus can, and they will see the abundance of Jesus. Hallelujah! So this point is very important; you must know Jesus, not because you see Jesus and then believe, but because you hear and believe. The Jesus recorded in the Bible is who you should believe in and respect from your heart. Amen!

The second point I want to share is that the centurion understood authority.

Matthew 8:9, “For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes; I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

In this brief sentence, two aspects are presented: first, obedience to authority. The centurion manages a hundred people, and above him is a thousand-man commander, who is his superior. He must also respect his superior. Therefore, the centurion clearly states that he is under authority and has soldiers under him. If we ignore the first part, this centurion could be seen as a very arrogant officer. He first says, “Because I am under authority,” meaning the centurion knows he is under authority and understands that only by first obeying authority can he effectively use authority. If he disregards his superiors, those below him will not truly obey him. This is something we must understand.

Let me tell you a story. A few days ago, I read a book about a mother who wanted to teach her son to listen well. Being an only child, he was very disrespectful to his father, speaking without regard. The mother first used very stern words to educate him, saying, “If you speak to your father like that again, I will not be polite to you.”

Unexpectedly, the son replied, “You usually speak to Dad like that.”

The mother realized she had a problem and apologized to the child, saying, “Mom will change; you should not do that either.”

However, within three days, the child returned to his old ways, speaking arrogantly to his father. At this point, the mother became angry and reached out to hit her son. The son said, “You spoke to Dad like that yesterday; you can say what you want, but why should I listen to you?”

Brothers and sisters, do you understand what this means? Many people want to educate their children well but do not realize they must first obey authority. They take away their child's phone, saying they should not play with it, but they themselves are playing with their phones. Will the child really listen to them? They will feel resentful. It is not that today’s children do not listen; it is because we have not set a good example. If you do not understand to first obey authority, you will not be able to use authority effectively.

If you understand that you are under Jesus' authority, you are humble and respectful to Jesus, then when you exercise authority, you will also bring forth Jesus' glory. If you do not understand to obey authority, you will not be able to use authority well. Because when using it, you will doubt yourself. Jesus is our example; when He was on earth, He obeyed the Father's will in everything and was able to use the authority given to Him by the Father well. When Jesus called the twelve disciples, He had already given them authority.

Matthew 10:1, “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.”

Are you Jesus' disciples? Did Jesus give you that authority? If you are not sure, you can read the last part of Matthew 28, where Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Mark 16 also says, “These signs will accompany those who believe.” Isn’t that authority given to us? It is not just for the twelve disciples; it is also for you.

Why can’t we use authority well? The reason may be that you do not submit to Jesus' authority. Many people believe in Jesus just to gain some benefits. They listen to what sounds good, but when asked to do something, they say, “No, you are binding me with the law; I cannot do that.” Such people will not use authority to do things; first, they must learn to obey authority.

If the disciples do not obey authority and hold a self-righteous attitude, they will not manifest the authority to heal the sick and cast out demons. The reason miracles often manifest in missionary areas is that these people submit to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, being under God's authority. Amen! So brothers and sisters, let us in our daily lives honor the Lord in everything and willingly submit to Jesus' authority, knowing that we are using Jesus' authority, and we will experience miracles in the ministry.

This is a very important point. Just like the centurion, he knew where his authority came from; it was not something he created himself but was given to him from above. Since it can be given to him from above, when he is disobedient, that authority can also be taken away. This is what the centurion understood in his heart, so he knew that when he sought Jesus, he had to do it in Jesus' way, not arrogantly. He knew Jesus' power was greater than his own authority. When he has this understanding in his heart and then seeks Jesus, he naturally becomes humble. This is the first aspect of obeying authority.

Second, using authority without doubt. As I emphasized earlier, the centurion was first a person who obeyed authority, and secondly, he was someone who frequently used authority. It was clearly stated that he had soldiers under him, so those soldiers must also obey his authority. Have you noticed that when he obeys those above him, those below him will also obey him, and things will be done in an orderly and efficient manner? Amen!

When he says to one, “Go,” he goes; doesn’t that mean he has assigned a task for them to do? When that person goes to do it, there will be great power manifested. Imagine this centurion commanding someone below him, like a fifty-man commander to do something. When the fifty-man commander goes to do it, he carries the centurion's authority. Now this centurion carries the authority of the thousand-man commander. You may not listen to me, but my superior will not let you off. You can humiliate me today, but you cannot humiliate the one behind me.

Isn't it a hierarchy? If people understand this, they will not dare to humiliate Jesus because Jesus is backed by the Father. If people also know that Christians are Jesus' disciples, who would dare to humiliate Christians? Because to humiliate Christians is to humiliate Jesus; this is a hierarchy of authority.

When the centurion commands those below him to do things, he only thinks of one thing: I command this, and it will definitely be done. Will he doubt? Soldiers on the battlefield have military orders; this must be done, and it will be done. He frequently issues commands and finds that when he issues a command, it gets completed... When he tells his servant to do something, the servant goes and does it without considering whether it is appropriate.

The centurion has trained in this area too much. Because we have not undergone such training, when the Lord Jesus gives us a word, we say, “Lord! This method is not reliable.” If you do not act, you will not see the miracles afterward. But in the military, you are not allowed to think, “I told you to do this, so do it, even if there is a pit ahead, I say to go forward.” You say there is a pit; I say go forward, so just go. At that time, your cleverness is not needed. If we have such faith in Jesus and submit to authority, the miracles you accomplish will be the same as Jesus'. We fear being too clever and saying this won't work. If you have a hundred soldiers under your command and you are directing a battle, if those below you say, “We cannot do this; the enemy is too strong. Doing this is going to our death,” then no one can command, and it will definitely be a defeat, right?

This centurion frequently used this authority and knew in his heart that when he said something, it would definitely be accomplished. When he issued authority, he never doubted that those below him would change his orders. In the military, once you issue a military order, what happens if you change it privately? Death; that is a terrifying thing. We do not know Jesus' authority, and we doubt God's words. If you have a hundred, and eighty percent do not comply with my rules, only twenty percent remain; can that be effective?

Brothers and sisters, it is not that God's words lack power; it is that when they come to you, there is not much left. The centurion understood spiritual authority through worldly authority. He knew he was only managing a hundred people, but Jesus is the Son of God; His power and authority must be greater than mine. Since I can accomplish something with just one word, then He is the Son of God, and when He speaks, it will also be accomplished. So he sought Jesus for one thing: just say a word, and my servant will be healed.

Have you noticed that this is the power of authority he has trained in! Why do I encourage everyone to practice declarations after the meeting? Do not think this is a ritual; no, when you frequently use this authority, when you truly have a problem, you will think this way. Amen!

So when the centurion sought something from Jesus, it was not like others. Look at how Lazarus' friends sought Jesus, “You must hurry!” At that time, how did Mary say? “Lord, if you had come earlier, my brother would not have died.” Now look at how this centurion spoke: “I do not want you to go.” If we all ask Jesus for this, can it waste your time? “Jesus, I just ask you for one word; just say a word, and that is enough.” This faith is in his daily life, discovering spiritual matters through worldly things. Just say a word, and my servant will be healed. Amen!

The centurion knew that by obeying his superior, he had the right to command his subordinates. He prayed to the Lord Jesus based on this principle because he knew that the Lord Jesus also came into this world with authority. He has God's power, and if He just says a word to my servant, my servant will surely be healed. This is his understanding of Jesus healing. I do not know how you understand it.

How many people think that only after a certain pastor lays hands on them can they be healed? Then it must be that way to be healed. Some say, “As long as I listen to the sermon, I can be healed,” which means they believe they will be healed during the sermon. Others say, “I must attend a certain large training session, and then I can be healed,” meaning they believe they can only be healed in that process. It is not that this God has a problem; it is that your understanding of healing is different. Amen!

The centurion's faith is different from others' thoughts. No matter what others say, many people testify, “I was there listening to Jesus preach, and when Jesus waved His hand, my illness was healed.” The centurion said, “I do not ask for that; I just need Jesus to say a word.” His understanding of healing is knowing the power of authority, based on his experience in the army, believing that Jesus' words are the same.

Let’s look at a passage of scripture to understand Jesus' authority, Hebrews 1:1-3,

1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

This describes our Lord Jesus; He is the heir of all things. Jesus has everything within Him, right? All blessings are in Him, and through Him, He created the universe. The universe is not just our Earth or a galaxy; it is the entire cosmos that Jesus created. After creating it, who maintains its balance? It is still Jesus. Now, all the planets in the universe operate so regularly; what makes them operate so normally?

The second half of verse 3 says, “sustaining all things by his powerful word.”

Do you know what this means? When our Lord created the world and everything in it, He said, “I set a rule: the Earth will revolve around the sun like this, and it will rotate to this point at this time.” As long as God says it, then the Earth will rotate like this until God says it no longer needs to rotate. This is called a powerful command. He does not repeat it like we do when educating children, saying, “Eat more today, but tomorrow you won’t eat.” Saying it repeatedly shows our authority is too small; God only says it once.

Have you noticed that all things in the world operate according to God's words? God does not say, “Every year I will say it once; otherwise, the world will be chaotic. I must issue commands to every planet, and they must rotate like this.” Is it that troublesome? From the beginning of creation, God set boundaries. Have you read Job? God set a boundary for the sea, saying the waters will return here. Today, all oceans operate according to this rule, right? They cannot just overflow; if they cross the boundary, they must return. This boundary is set, and when it reaches it, it returns.

This was also God's initial command, meaning Jesus only needs to say a word once, and it is established. Amen! The fear is that we think, “Jesus, you just say this one word, ‘Let it be done according to your faith; you may go.’ Can you say a few more words? You haven’t mentioned my servant yet!” We always hope for more words in prayer, clearer explanations, but Jesus does not do this. He says, “Okay, let it be done according to your faith; you may go.” It is that simple. Do you want to believe? Why is it so simple? It is not needed; His words are that powerful. Hallelujah! This is called authority. Which officer issues orders and has to repeat them? None, right? Just say it once, and it can be executed.

The third point is the source of great faith.

Matthew 8:10, When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”

Why is this so? The disciples had followed Him for so long; why did they not have such faith? The Israelites listened to Him preach every day; why did they not have such great faith? And this centurion, who only heard about Jesus, had such great faith. Where did his faith come from? We need to understand that faith arises from our understanding of the Lord. The more you know about Jesus, the greater your faith will be. The more you hear about Jesus, the more your faith will continue to grow. This great faith is Jesus' praise for the centurion, indicating that the centurion truly had such great faith. The centurion did not ask Jesus to lay hands on him to transfer faith; he had never seen Jesus perform miracles, yet he had such great faith in Jesus, and the only source was the words he heard at the beginning. He heard about Jesus and kept this in his heart, seeing Jesus' authority in his life.

I hope you learn this: when you read the Bible and discover that God's words can be applied in this area of your life, you will have faith. Hallelujah! He saw Jesus' faith through life experiences. Such faith is more real and certain than seeing.

Matthew 8:11-12

11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Why, while praising the centurion's faith, does He also mention the disbelief of the Israelites? Does Jesus not want them to believe? Or does Jesus look down on His own people? Jesus' purpose in coming was to preach the gospel to the Jews; His work was not primarily for the Gentiles. Do you understand? He was specifically preaching this gospel to the Jews, yet the faith of the Jews was not as great as that of the Gentiles. This great faith, “I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith,” perhaps it is too familiar, so reason outweighs faith. Perhaps you are too familiar with me; you see my daily life, and you think the pastor from outside is better. There is an old saying: “The monk from outside reads the scriptures better.” This is not without reason; we always think the outside is better. We do not understand him, but we can accept what he says. Perhaps my preaching is more detailed, but you cannot accept it because you are too familiar with it.

Is this not the case with Jesus? When Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth, He particularly hoped that the people from His hometown would accept the gospel and receive healing. The Bible records that Jesus could not perform any miracles there and eventually left. Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town.” If you do not believe, try it out. Even if you have received grace and seen miracles, such as being healed from cancer, and you preach the gospel to the people in your village, how many will believe you? It is because they are too familiar, and reason outweighs faith. Do you understand? Now you need to put all this down, as if you are hearing the sermon for the first time. Let go of everything and start receiving from zero.

Every time you listen to the sermon with such a heart, you will always receive. The fear is comparison; once you compare with other pastors, you will not be able to accept this anymore. Start from zero, as if you know nothing. Today, you preach this, and I will believe and accept it from zero; that is enough. You will definitely see miracles. The Israelites thought they were descendants of Abraham. Indeed, from a physical lineage perspective, they were descendants of Abraham. But what did Jesus say? “But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This refers to those in hell. Brothers and sisters, how can one be saved? By faith. How was the centurion's servant healed? By faith. Therefore, disbelief will lead to no use; even if you are a descendant of Abraham, you still cannot be saved; it is all by faith. Hallelujah!

Let me elaborate a bit more. Even if you follow Jesus closely, if you doubt His words, it is still very difficult to receive anything. This explains why the Pharisees never received anything. I hope brothers and sisters today can establish the correct faith through this word. Hallelujah!

Recently, someone online listened to my sermon and said they understood many scriptures and their faith increased. They asked, “When will the video be released?”

A sister asked, “Why do you want the video?”

She said, “If I cannot see the person, I will not listen.”

Where is your focus? If it is on seeing a person, it would be better to watch various dances or listen to some comedic dialogues; they are more interesting. I only use audio to tell you that you only need to hear Jesus within it, and everything else can be completely ignored. Amen!

Moreover, when listening to audio, your heart can calm down. If you always see the pastor jumping around on stage... your focus will be on him, not on what he is saying. Did this centurion see Jesus healing people? He only heard about Jesus. I hope when you listen to my sermons, you can know that Jesus within is enough. Hallelujah! Even if you are in a grace-filled church, if your heart is not in it, you will still not receive anything. The key is not where you are but whether you have heard about Jesus.

Matthew 8:13, Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

What did the centurion ask Jesus for? He asked for one word: “My servant is paralyzed; Jesus, just say a word to me.” So if you ask Jesus for a word, whether it is long or short, it does not matter; as long as it is said by Jesus, that is enough. Amen! What the centurion wanted was this.

I think preaching the gospel is really very simple. If every believer were as simple as the centurion, I would not need to preach for an hour; it would be very easy to receive, right? Jesus said one word: “Go! Let it be done according to your faith.” Then the centurion joyfully returned home, verifying one thing: at the moment Jesus spoke, his servant was already healed.

Finally, I want to share: “Let it be done according to your faith.”

How much faith do you have? How many churches preach that you must have faith? If you do not have faith, how can God heal you? You must have faith. How do you get faith? You must listen to more sermons, read more scriptures, give more... and it goes back to works, which seems to be a problem again. I ask you, “Let it be done according to your faith; how is this faith produced?” Is it your actions that produce this faith?

If faith is produced through actions (stage, lights, atmosphere, etc.), such faith will not last long. What I mean is, if you see Jesus wave His hand and the paralyzed people all stand up, then you will have faith. Such faith will not last more than three days because that faith is accompanied by actions. Unless you hear about Jesus and keep the truth in your heart, that kind of faith will be lasting.

The more you know the Lord Jesus, the more faith you have. The amount of faith a person receives corresponds to the amount of blessing they can receive. God's reward for a person's faith is proportional to the degree to which we accept it. To put it this way, if we use one hundred as a measure, Jesus' faith is one hundred; you can say His faith is full. If you know Jesus to fifty, then you have Jesus' faith to fifty. According to your fifty faith, Jesus will accomplish for you. In previous teachings, we talked about thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold. If you only know Jesus to thirty, Jesus says, “Let it be done according to your faith.” He gives you a hundred, but you can only bear thirty; the other seventy is not that Jesus did not give you, but you cannot bear or believe it. You can only receive thirty. If you can bear fifty, your faith is fifty.

If you can believe like Jesus believes in the Father, that is remarkable; your faith will be full. Amen! Now you understand how faith is produced, right? It is not about what you do more or how much you have seen Jesus do that produces faith; it is about believing in Him. Doing these things only shows that Jesus has this ability and authority. You must believe not in what Jesus has done before but in the fact that He is a God who loves you, and then great faith will arise. Hallelujah! If you know Jesus to eighty or one hundred, Jesus will acknowledge that you have such faith. The amount you know is the amount of faith that exists within you. Jesus says, “This is your faith.”

Now do not distinguish between whether it is Jesus' faith or my faith; that is too troublesome. The amount you know Jesus is the amount of faith you have, which is also Jesus' faith. Hallelujah! We are all receiving Jesus' faith. Is it not true that everyone receives differently? Even today, as you all listen to the sermon, each person receives differently, and the results will also be different.

Someone might ask, “Why do you say this?” Someone says, “I understand how to obtain great faith, which is to completely believe in Jesus.” Then you have the faith of Jesus. That is why Jesus often says, “Let it be done according to your faith.” It is how much you can receive from Jesus. If you believe, “This disease of mine has been healed because of the wounds Jesus bore. Now I am completely healed because Jesus has this ability. He spoke to the centurion's servant, and that servant was healed on the spot. Today He speaks to me like this, and I am healed.” You have received it. If you receive, “I will declare this every day, and my illness will definitely be healed this week,” that is also your faith. You cannot say he is wrong; you can believe and declare that, and after a week, you will see the results. If you say, “Is that possible?” it will also be done according to your faith.

This is what it means to let it be done according to your faith. We all receive Jesus' faith, so how much each person receives is different. Even today, as you all listen to the sermon, each person receives differently, and the results will also be different.

This is what I mean: if you believe that “my disease is healed because of the wounds Jesus bore,” you will see results. If you believe, “I will declare this every day, and my illness will definitely be healed this week,” that is also your faith. You cannot say he is wrong; you can believe and declare that, and after a week, you will see the results. If you say, “Is that possible?” it will also be done according to your faith.

This is what it means to let it be done according to your faith. We all receive Jesus' faith,