Amazing Jesus

Thank you so much for sharing.

If you have your Bibles, I want to turn to Matthew chapter 8.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

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I just often call that the trial sermon, and I told you at the time that I was not on trial.

I hadn't even been arrested.

And then I preached on Mark chapter 6, among other passages, and I want to return to that today.

Mark 6 · chapter mention

Now, I will tell you, I'm not starting over at four years of sermons, okay?

It's not the case.

We're preaching through the book of Mark after we took an excursion during Easter.

And as we approached this passage, I couldn't help but think about another passage.

These two passages are two of the most startling passages that I've ever come across.

They are two passages that stump me.

It's found in Matthew chapter 8, beginning in verse 5, and it says this.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to Christ, appealing to him,

Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.

And he said to him, I will come and heal him.

But the centurion replied, Lord, I'm not worthy to have you come under my roof,

for I only say the word, and my servant will be healed.

For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.

And I say to one, go, and he goes, and the other come, and he comes.

And to my servant, do this, and he does that.

When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him,

truly I tell you, there is no one in Israel, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

Did you catch it?

Jesus was amazed.

It says he marveled at the man's faith.

Now, Jesus was limitless.

He knew all things and could do all things.

The only limits that he had, he put upon himself,

and he only had them while he lived in the flesh on the earth.

Philippians 2, verse 6-8 gives us a hint of that,

Philippians 2:6–8

when it says, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God,

a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant,

being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form.

He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

even death on the cross.

I don't know what all he gave up when he came in the flesh, in human form,

and whoever tells you that they do completely understand that,

either lies to you or is ignorant enough to think they know.

The reality is, it is beyond us.

But I would have thought that a man's faith would not have marveled him.

But it did.

So what amazed Jesus?

I'll tell you what amazed Jesus.

It was an abundance of unexpected faith.

The man showed amazing faith.

And he was not a man who was expected to show amazing faith.

He was a centurion.

A centurion was a high-ranked official,

an officer in the Roman army.

He led a century of men, usually between 80 and 100 men,

in a company of soldiers.

They were sharp men.

They were notables of the community.

They were known for their deliberation.

They were known for their consistency.

They were known for their strength.

They were known as being battle-tested.

They were known as being experienced.

We see a presence of the centurions sprinkle throughout the New Testament.

Here, this one had watched Jesus.

and he had seen the power of Christ

and he had now put his faith in Christ.

There was another centurion

that stood at the foot of the cross of Christ.

He oversaw the death of Christ

only to utter in the end

in Mark chapter 15 verse 39

Mark 15:39

truly this man looking at Christ

was the Son of God.

In the book of Acts we find Cornelius.

Cornelius is the first Gentile convert

and interestingly enough he is also a centurion.

Paul had a centurion at his side

through many of his travels

as he traveled from prison to prison

having a centurion beside him many times.

The status of a centurion made for an impressive resume

but it also made for a Gentile

who was an outsider.

So what you have is a Gentile outsider

working for the Roman government.

That man was not expected to respond to Christ

in a positive way.

I mean think about this.

Jesus was a Jew focused on saving

and training Jews to reach the rest of the world

for the kingdom of God.

But those Jews that represented the kingdom of God

to the people of that day

they're the ones that tried to kill Christ.

They're the ones that did not follow him.

Upon arranging for his execution

they built new and unheard of relationships

with the Romans to have him executed.

Yet here he is in fact

a commander of the opposing army of another race

that showed the greatest step of faith

in all of the land.

And Jesus marveled.

He was astonished.

He was astonished.

At the belief of one

that was not even expected to be listening.

Not even expected to be watching.

And then we look at Mark chapter 6.

Mark 6 · chapter mention

Mark chapter 6 verse 1 through 6 says this.

Mark 6:1–6

Jesus went away from there

and came to his hometown

and his disciples followed him.

And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue

and many who heard him were astonished saying

where does this man get these things?

What is the wisdom given to him?

How are such mighty works done by his hands?

Is not this carpenter the son of Mary

and brother of James and Joseph

and Judas and Simon

and are not his sisters here with us?

And they took offense at him.

And Jesus said to them

a prophet's not without honor

except in his hometown

and among his relatives

and in his own household.

And he could do no mighty work there

except that he laid his hands

on a few sick people and healed them.

And he marveled

because of their unbelief

and he went about among the villages

teaching.

What amazes Jesus in this circumstance?

An absence of expected faith.

He was preaching in his hometown

among those that knew him best

yet they did not respond.

Now we're not talking about

some wild child

that's finally come home

and now he'll come back

and let's see what he's made of.

Not at all.

The reality is

this is Jesus.

He didn't have wild days.

He didn't involve himself

in the debaucheries of the day.

Christ was sinless.

He was born into common means.

He was born to a common family.

But he was 100% God

and at the same time

100% man.

His ministry did not start

until he came out of a desert

of temptation

and he came out of it

as a sinless man.

His testimony

preceded his ministry.

Yet the very people

that he had come from

the very people

that he was sent

to train and prepare

the people

that you know

will believe in him.

The expected people.

His own people

failed to recognize

his power and might.

They failed to recognize

who he really was

and he was amazed.

Now I want you to notice

what this means

because verse 5

makes this clear.

people's lives

were not impacted

by Christ

as they could have been

because the very people

that should have been

his support

did not believe him.

Those who

really knew him.

That's amazing.

I wonder how we amazed

what do we do

that amazes Jesus?

Now

I doubt we surprise him.

As a matter of fact

we don't surprise him.

He knows us.

Nothing throws him off.

He knows our heart.

The frailness though

of humanity

in the incarnate Christ

has been shed.

Jesus is all knowing.

He's ever present.

He's all powerful Lord.

He sits at the right hand

of the Father

praying for us.

And he knows

how to pray for us

because he knows us.

He knows how to pray for us

when we utter

our ramblings.

When we skirt around

the real issues

of our life.

when we share

our grocery list

of wants

and wishes

to an almighty God

that sees

into us

and sees

through us

the whole time

while we're trying

to convince him

that we are of one

heart and mind

with his will.

He knows all that.

But aren't we still amazing?

How we look past

the work that he's done

in his word

the work that he's done

through his word

the work that he's done

through our lives

the work that he's done

in our lives

the work that

that he's working

in us

and through us

and yet we're still

afraid to hand him

the reins of our life.

It isn't amazing

that we still worry

we still do the very things

that he tells us

not to do

we worry about things

we worry about stuff

we worry about mammon

that's a good

King James Version

word right there

mammon

you know what mammon is?

Mammon's that stuff

it's your stuff

you know

you may not have much

but it's your stuff

don't mess with my stuff

matter of fact

some of that mammon

we've made

tremendous sacrifice for

they never satisfy

we want a little more

a little bigger

a little better

a little newer

he tells us

to be anxious

for nothing

but yet a doctor

tells us

he wants to run a test

and sheer panic

invades our lives

he tells us

to seek him first

and if we're

if most of us

are honest

the agenda of God

in our lives

sometimes comes

second place

maybe third place

maybe

we won't go there

the King of Kings

and the Lord of Lords

comes in the flesh

to live among us

takes upon himself

our frailties

yet passes

every tempting test

giving every trial

to the Father

dying a sinner's death

so that we would not

have to

was buried in a barred tomb

because you don't need

to buy something

that you're only going to use

for a few days

and later he arose

he walked among us

for 40 days

and ascended

to the right hand

of the Father

to build us

a place in heaven

to make intercession

on our behalf

to wait until the Father

says go

and the trumpet blows

and he comes

to take us home

isn't it amazing

even with all that

that our daily lives

often do not reflect

the change

that's taken place

we must amaze

Jesus still today

no I don't think

we catch him off guard

I don't think

we catch him by surprise

he saw it coming

all the time

but surely he marvels

at the missed opportunities

that we walk away from

don't you think

he marvels

at the people

that he places

in our path

that we walk by

don't you think

he marvels

at the way

he always makes

a way out

when we're tempted

1 Corinthians 10

13 promises us that

and yet

we fail

and we fall

right back

into the same

sinful patterns

time and time again

don't you think

he marvels

that he's given us

all that we'll ever need

yet instead of

tapping into the power

that is within us

by the Holy Spirit

of God

we reach for

everything around

us looking

for something

to lean on

it's amazing

folks

don't you marvel

over that

don't it

amaze you

I mean

what do you think

God would do

how do you think

he would bless

if we decided

today

to live our lives

in a way

that

will amaze

him

amaze him

that

we

that

we

dedicate ourselves to the Word of God.

Amaze Him in the way that we dedicate ourselves to prayer.

Amaze Him in the way that we trust Him in all that we do.

Amaze Him in the way that we forsake this world and follow Him

instead of forsaking Him and following the world.

Amaze Him in the way that we lean on Him daily.

Amaze Him in the way that we truly believe that He's everything that we've got.

He's the only hope that we've got.

Amaze Him in the way that we believe that He saves all who will believe.

Amaze Him in the way that we rest in the guidance that He gives us when we listen.

To amaze Him with the way we believe He gives peace

for everyone who will find their rest in Him.

I don't know about you.

But I want to amaze Jesus.

Not with the things that I fail to believe.

But the way I'm determined to believe that God's up to something pretty special.

Because His grace is amazing.

I said His grace is amazing.

Why don't our lives amazing?

The question is, are we willing to live an amazing life for Jesus today?

To just live for the Lord Jesus in an amazing fashion.

I'm going to tell you, this whole dark world needs that kind of light.

And God's called us to be that kind of light.

Not only called us now,

He enabled us by the Spirit of God

to be that for His honor

and for His glory

and for His kingdom.

I don't know if it will be amazing to Him.

But I know one thing.

If we trust Him with everything we've got

and lean on Him completely

and live for Him wholeheartedly,

it would be absolutely amazing.

May we do that.

May we do that.

I'll tell you how it starts.

It starts by surrendering your life to the Lord Jesus.

It starts by asking Him to come into your life

and to forgive you of the sins that have separated you.

And asking Him to cleanse you.

And to make you whole.

And committing your life to live amazing for Him.

Not in your own strength,

but by the power of the strength of God.

The Spirit of God that indwells us.

You've never given your heart and life to the Lord.

Give it to Him.

Today.

Maybe you're here this morning.

You have done that,

but you've never acknowledged that publicly.

You've never been baptized as a believer.

And Jesus, by His commission and by His example,

tells us that the proper way to acknowledge our salvation

is to follow that up with public baptism.

It's a physical representation of what happens to us spiritually.

If you've never done that, I encourage you to come.

We plan to do that in the next few weeks.

And so I encourage you to come.

I told you when I began that

that I preached on these two passages

and a very similar theme

on the first Sunday that I preached in this church.

I remember it.

I had a three-piece suit on with a tie.

Sitting right here.

Taking all of it in.

Trying to figure out what in the world.

What in the world are they getting into?

What in the world am I getting into?

How's all this going to work out?

And I remember

working on that sermon in preparation

for that day

and saying,

God,

if you're not going to do amazing things in that church,

I don't want to go.

I don't want to go.

I could have stayed where I was.

God, if you're going to do something

where we can tell it's been by your hand

and by your direction

and you're going to allow me to get in on a move of God,

then I want to be a part of it.

Lord, let it be amazing.

I can tell you after almost four years,

it's been amazing.

God's been good to us.

He really has.

So if you're a guest here today,

this ain't a sales pitch.

It's true.

God's leading you to be a part of Pickett's First Baptist Church.

I can tell you

that I thank God

if He's leading you,

you need to follow.

It's a blessed body of believers

and we're excited about what God's done.

We're excited about what God's going to do.

It's a good people to be a part of

if God so leads.

Whatever that is,

then there's the rest of us

that in reality there's things in our life

that we just,

it's just not amazing.

It just needs to be changed in our lives

and we need to lay those down before the Lord today.

And you can do that where you stand

as this song is sang

or you can do it at this altar

or you can do it with a pastor praying for you.

I'll always tell you,

I never want you to do more

than what God tells you to do.

But it is always my prayer

that you'll never be satisfied

with doing less

than what God would have you to do.

Just be obedient.

If you need Christ, come.

Let me share Christ with you.

If you need to publicly acknowledge Him, come.

We'll line that up.

God's leading you to this church, you come.

God's leading you to deal with a matter in your life

that you need to lay down before Him.

You come.

You take care of that.

However God leads you to do it,

you take care of that.

Heavenly Father, I love you.

And I thank you, Lord,

for the blessing

that you give us to be your children,

to allow you to lead and guide us, God.

And I'm thankful, Lord,

for how we've seen it

in our midst, dear Father.

And I ask, God,

that you will make us hungry

to be more like you,

to live more for you,

to lay down today

the matters that we need to lay down before you

and to walk out of here

ready to live amazing lives

for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lead us right now,

oh God, I pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.