MidTree Church
The sermon audio of MidTree Church in Harris County, Ga. BEHOLD // BELIEVE // BECOME
MidTree Church
Reflections on Divine Compassion and Human Faith | Pastor Will Hawk | April 7, 2024
Discover the unexpected places where faith can flourish and how humility serves as a cornerstone to a meaningful spiritual journey. We unpack the riveting tales from Luke chapter 7, where a Roman centurion's astounding faith and a widow's profound grief bring to light the compassionate might of Jesus Christ. We delve into the paradox of spiritual advantage versus genuine faith, challenging both skeptics and believers to evaluate the nature of their own beliefs and the essence of true humility.
Have you ever wondered about the strength of your own faith or how you measure up in the eyes of the divine? This episode is a heartening exploration of these questions, as we discuss the centurion's exemplary humility and faith, and the remarkable inclusion of the Gentiles into a faith that transcends cultural boundaries. We also consider the transformative nature of faith and how it can redefine our identity under Christ's authority, inviting you to join us in a moment of self-reflection and a call to live out an active faith that emulates Christ's love.
Ending on a note of encouragement, we shed light on the communal aspects of faith and the power it holds to draw us together, regardless of where we are on our spiritual paths. Whether you're a devout believer or still seeking answers, this episode offers an insightful look at the inclusivity of Christ's message and the transformative impact of faith in our lives. Join us as we offer guidance for deepening your faith and embracing the fullness of a life walked in humility before God.
If you want to learn more about the MidTree story or connect with us, go to our website HERE or text us at 812-MID-TREE.
Hey guys, shane's going to come up and read our text. If you want to go ahead and flip there in your Bibles, it'll be Luke, chapter 7, verses 1 through 17. And if you're using a Pew Bible, I think it's page 863. Thanks, shane.
Shane Harrison:Hey, good morning. I'm Shane. I'm going to be reading our scripture for the morning, if you'll follow along. 7, 1 through 17.
Shane Harrison:After he had finished all his sayings and the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now, centurion had a servant who was sick at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When Centurion heard about Jesus, he sent him elders of the Jews asking him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying he is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he is the one who built our synagogue. And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends saying to him Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am 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 set under authority, with soldiers under me, and I say to one go and he goes, and another come and he comes. And to my servant do this and he does it.
Shane Harrison:When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him 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 have been sent returned to the house, they found a servant. Well, soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near the gate of this town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a. And the great crowd went with him. Amen, thank you, shane. Appreciate that people and the report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
Will Hawk:Amen. Thank you, shane, appreciate that. All right, guys. Well, hey, as we hop in, what I want you to realize, go ahead and if you're looking in a physical Bible, just notice the headings in Luke, chapter 7. There are five different stories, five different scenes that God's Word is going to carry us through. We're going to look at the first two today. We're going to look at the centurion and we're going to look at this widow's son being brought back from the dead. But what I want you to realize that Luke is doing in chapter seven is he's showing us today what good, healthy faith looks like. And then next week, when we jump into the other three scenes, it's going to show us what a lack of faith or what weak faith looks like. And what I really want you to notice is number one faith, what it is, how it operates, what God expects of each one of us. But then the second thing that I want you to look for it drips off the pages To miss faith. In reading this, you would have to be on your phone or checking out Instagram or something like that to miss it. But the thing that I also don't want you to miss is humility. So we're going to see faith and we're going to see humility, like God is, will do, can do, is all of these things and then humility, beautifully blended together. So, as we dive in, maybe just a little self-assessment Faith how is your faith? You could apply that to do I even have faith in God, in Christ? Am I a skeptic? Am I a seeker? Am I a believer? But also for the believer in the room, is your faith alive? Is your faith something that you point back to or something that you operate out of? And I want you to notice sort of the humility that Christ puts on display immediately in this text. So, verse one after he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. So you'd have to go back into Luke, chapter six. You'll see the Beatitudes, tons and tons of teaching. Jesus has been on a countryside looking at thousands of people and spending hours teaching them. And then I want you to notice what comes right after that. In fact, let's just, let's do this. I'm going to give you a sentence you fill in the blank. Jesus tells us to love your. It's so funny. I said that to the first group and I was like everybody, enemies, right, and they were like no neighbors too, will we have to love your? It's so funny. I said that to the first group and I was like everybody, enemies, right, and they were like no neighbors too, will we have to love our neighbors? So it was funny just to watch. Like who's gonna go which way? Jesus does tell us to love our neighbors, but he's coming from a teaching where he tells them to love their enemies. Hours after that teaching, here's what the Bible says.
Will Hawk:Now a centurion walks onto the scene. A centurion would have been a representative of Rome, and not just any representative of Rome. He would have been a powerful force. A hundred cents in a dollar, a hundred years in a century, how many soldiers do you think this guy commanded? A thousand, I'm just kidding, a hundred To get that position. He has to be a very impressive man in the eyes of Rome, probably brutal when he needs to be. Probably incredibly skillful with weapons, maybe skillful with his tongue and his influence. This was a man of power. And when you, as a Bible reader, or you in that day and age, see that word centurion, what you need to be imagining is what we imagine at the death of Christ Soldiers who are there, who are in control, it seems, who get to make the call and move the storyline along. But I want you to notice something really interesting about this guy.
Will Hawk:Notice a couple of the things that the Bible tells us about him. First of all, he has a servant that was highly valued by him. That's incredibly unusual To a centurion. A servant is expendable. I can get rid of this one and I will have another one. Supplied. Centurion would have had a lot of money, would have had a lot of influence. For one servant to become sick could have easily simply been an inconvenience that a rehiring would take care of, but not this man.
Will Hawk:He is different. Not only that. He goes to the leaders of the Jews and he asks Jesus to come. He doesn't command him. He doesn't say Jesus, if you do not come, all of your disciples will be put in chains. Command him. He doesn't say Jesus, if you do not come, all of your disciples will be put in chains. If you do not come, it'll be the last time you speak publicly. He doesn't try to coerce him at all. In fact, he humbly just says would you please come?
Will Hawk:But the most staggering thing to me is that the religious leaders who would not have been on his team, point to this nameless man and they say this he do you see it? Third line down on the main paragraph he is worthy. They're saying that about somebody who would be their enemy. He is worthy. Do you know why? They tell you he has loved our nation, the place where we expected brutality and hatred and malice to come from. Instead, we have seen love. And not only have we seen love. He I don't even understand this exactly he built us, our synagogue. This guy built the building we worship in that he wouldn't even be allowed to come and worship in. I want you to think about just how different that is than in our day and age. In our day and age, especially a hundred years ago, 50 years ago, if you gave to the church, there'd be a little placard on the pew with your name on it. If you gave to the church, there'd be a little wing the centurion wing except he would actually have his name. This guy gets his name put on nothing but he loves.
Will Hawk:The Bible is pointing that this is an unusual thing that he, god, wants you to see. He valued the least among him. He values a servant. This is the display of humility Valuing people that the world would tell you are below you Socio-economic standards or anything else. You're more advanced in your career than they are. You're older, you're wiser, you're whatever. All of those things get swept into the dustbin when this man who, by the way, doesn't even have the history of religiosity or faith walks onto the scene. Not only that, he cares for the strangers around him, people of different customs, people that were under his care, that he could have forced to be or do or say whatever he wanted, but no, he loves them where they are. What you see here is the very place that the word hospitality comes from.
Will Hawk:But to me, the biggest key on what scripture wants you to notice in this guy is the biggest piece that you need to wrestle with yourself. He did not overvalue himself. In fact, everything else kind of flows from that. If this centurion said I have been instilled with power and with authority, I have control. All things, except for few things, are under my feet, he would act very, very differently. But there is something unique tucked into this man where, when he looks at himself, he doesn't see someone who deserves to be served. This, to me, is the key to understanding humility. He is worthy, they say, but he says, no, I am not worthy. And this is where great faith begins with great humility.
Will Hawk:No one comes to this cross the right way, proud or arrogant, you just can't do it. It's impossible. It's impossible for you to come to the cross and say, well, god, you know I or arrogant, you just can't do it. It's impossible. It's impossible for you to come to the cross and say, well, god, you know, I deserve this. You told me if I showed up, you told me if I said a little prayer, what are the exact little pixie dust magic words that I need to say? So I go to heaven and not hell and I die. I just need to go ahead and get this knocked out because I don't know what's coming, that nobody faithfully comes to the cross that way. Nobody faithfully comes to the cross that way. All of us come to the cross saying I don't know it all, I can't, never will know it all, I'm not in control of it all. Not only that, I can't even bring about the best into all of the situations. And this, to me, is what this centurion puts on display. He says I should have control in all things, and yet I do not. I need Jesus to step in, have control in all things, and yet I do not. I need Jesus to step in.
Will Hawk:This chapter on faith absolutely drips with humility, and I think it forces us to look at ourselves and ask a couple of questions. Do you key word here actively value the least among you? This man cared for someone that many would have seen as expendable, not worthy of his time or energy or efforts. Are there any in your world that you have been convinced are below you? What about the second? Do you actively care for strangers around you? Maybe they're not below you according to the world, maybe they're just different than you. Racism gets thrown in here, but I don't think that's all. I think what's being asked here is if this group of people navigates life differently than you, do you love them anyway? Are you like the apostle Paul, who navigates and moves from city to city, from inner circle to inner circle, just wanting to show people something that is greater than himself, which is Christ, or do you overvalue yourself?
Will Hawk:I can tell you very quickly how to determine if you overvalue yourself. It's not hard at all. The Bible says there is one thing that causes you to be more valuable than everything else in all creation. And, by the way, it does say that it says that you are created higher than everything else in all creation. God was not created. He existed, so he is outside of this. But when you look out the window, when your mind imagines something, you were created higher than that. Even the angels. The Bible tells us who we cower in fear every time they show up. Here's how to know if you overvalue yourself every time they show up. Here's how to know if you overvalue yourself.
Will Hawk:The one thing that God says causes you to be above anything else is this you were created in the image of God. He looks at his creation Good, good, good, good, good and then he says this creation needs more of me in it. So he creates people in his image, and those very ones who are higher than the rest of creation turn their backs on God and run from him to their own devices and their own things. Do you want to know how to determine if you overvalue yourself? Your greatest value is simply this you did nothing to come by it. You did nothing to earn it, nothing to deserve it. God made you in his image. He shows you how much he loves you by showing you how much he's willing to pay that that image, which has been marred, scarred and beaten up, can come back into alignment with God. If your value has anything to do with anything other than that, you're overvaluing yourself. You're overvaluing your ability, you're overvaluing your intellect, you're overvaluing your attractiveness, you're overvaluing what you can bring to people, take from people, give to people. The only great value we have is in something we never created.
Will Hawk:Jesus also displays humility here. He's just spoken to thousands of people. His following is massive, but he is not too big of a deal to go to one nameless servant who is sick. Why? Because this is the heart of Christ Humility, philippians 2. Jesus emptied himself. He took on the form of the servant. The one who's created above all things says I am going to become like them. Above all things says I am going to become like them, put on flesh like them, sweat and bleed, be scarred, hurt, hungry, thirsty. I am going to take on the form of that which is less than me, being born in the likeness of men. And when I'm found in human form, I'm going to go a step further. I'm going to humble myself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Will Hawk:Now, when it says even death on a cross. Let me tell you what it's not saying. It's not just saying man, that would be really brutal. The thought of nails going through hands, thorns being put on your head, dying publicly in that way, that would be really bad. That's why it's saying he was humbled. That's true, but that's not even close to the full meaning.
Will Hawk:The full meaning is this the creator allows himself to be killed by his creation. He allows it. Not only do they kill him, they don't even do it in a sterile environment. They spit on him, they mock him, they make fun of him. The very ones that he is trying to redeem are the ones that are purporting on him all of these evils. But this love, this humility, is not even the best part of the text. It's not the highlight, at least not according to Jesus.
Will Hawk:Here is where we find the highlight. But say the word Luke 7, 7, halfway through. But say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too. The centurion says, am a man under authority. I get authority.
Will Hawk:Verse 8 is a very powerful yet humble man looking at Jesus and saying I get it. I get who you are, I get what you can do. I believe that all of the stories are true, that you are and you'll see him call it in just a moment Lord, you are over all things. And so, jesus, I understand. I have soldiers under me. I say to one go, and he goes. I imagine the matter of factness of this centurion.
Will Hawk:This, to me, is such a beautiful faith. I say to one go, and he goes. I say to another come, and he comes. I tell my servant do this, and he does it. Jesus, I believe that if you would just say the word, lives would change and things would happen. When we're praying for Josh and mercy and hope, 100% of me believes that if God says the word, everything changes, and not only there, but in you as well. When you walk through those doors, you have within your chest and within your mind your life, the things that you love and the things that you hate, the things that you believe in and the things that you long to believe in, the things that you want and the things that you need, the things that came before you, that created you to be who you are, the regrets that you have. All of those walk in with you, you, and to that Jesus says in one word, a life can be changed. This is faith, and when Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him. That is a staggering statement. It's so staggering that when we were doing the read-through, I think I got more questions on this than anything else. This was one of them. I colored out the phone number so you won't know who it is.
Will Hawk:The bottom one, chapter 7, verse 9. Jesus marveling at the centurion's faith Does he not already know all things? Why is this surprising to him? It seems like Jesus marveling at someone's faith is actually bringing Jesus down a notch, or you could see it in the positive. What could you say about the fact that God and Jesus is thrilled by our faith? How amazing that Christ, the inspiration for the world, would be inspired when something in the world does something not of the world. When we look at this, what on earth? I'll go back to that text. What are we supposed to do with Jesus marveling at him? Well, I'll tell you there is a key to this and I want you to notice it in verse nine.
Will Hawk:Now, when you marvel at something, I think there are a couple of different reasons that happens. One is you could be surprised by something like didn't see that coming. If that's the case, then Jesus does not know all things and certainly he is fully God and fully man in one package. That is completely true. But I don't think Jesus is surprised Like whoa. I didn't see that, I didn't know Like faith was a thing people were going to start doing, yet I thought maybe in a minute. I don't think Jesus is surprised. Every one of our days was written before one of them came to be. He brought all things into creation. I don't think Jesus is walking throughout this world and being like whoa. I don't think that. I think what's happening is Jesus is marveling in many ways, the way that you and I marvel, not in seeing something that is greater than us, though that would cause us to marvel, but in seeing something very unexpected that would cause us to marvel, but in seeing something very unexpected.
Will Hawk:All of us let's use a fun example for the moment, all of us sort of expect that a baby is going to begin making noise and talking right. My wife got to experience and enjoy that just a few moments ago. All of us expect it, but some of us are very surprised when our child speaks far sooner than we expected. We expect for a child to crawl, to walk, and yet, if they beat the typical mark by a month or two months, we marvel at this thing, this thing that came sooner than we expected. Some things are a marvel simply because they are great. You don't go to the Grand Canyon and then visit it 20 years later and be like nah, I saw that I need to get caught up on my text messages. You don't do that. A labor and delivery nurse doesn't see a hundred babies be born and then number 120, they're just like oh, it's not that big of it. No, talk to them. It's amazing, it's a miracle every single time you see it.
Will Hawk:Jesus is watching a flower sprout in a desert of a lack of faith. He knows that flowers grow, he knows that they exist, but the fact that this one exists here now is amazing. And Jesus explains why it is such amazing. He says, turning to the crowd that followed him, he said I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. Jesus wants you to know that he was amazed by faith existing in this place, and I know that because he brings attention to it. You don't have to raise hands. But have you guys ever happened into being in the right time at the right place, where you would have gotten in trouble if you hadn't been there. I'll give you an example.
Will Hawk:You decide you're going to get to work early one day. It's Tuesday, and so you show up early on Tuesday, you grab your cup of coffee, you sit down to the desk and somebody opens the door and says you ready for the meeting? And you're like yes, I am, I 100% am ready for this meeting, that I have no clue what you're talking about. But I'm never going to bring attention to the fact that I wasn't paying attention to our calendar. None of us do this. None of us then walk into the meeting and say guys, I was going to completely blow you off. Like this meeting meant so little to me, I didn't even remember to put it on my calendar. Can you believe that? And here we are. What's important to you, let's discuss. No, we keep it to ourselves.
Will Hawk:But not Jesus. When something stands out, he's like I want you for all time, for posterity's sake, to know. I find this man amazing. Why? Because I haven't found faith like this even in Israel. You may say. Well, why is that a big deal? This centurion is ahead of his time. He's ahead of his time, like the cars that drive themselves. Everybody knows what they're called. They're called Teslas. Right, yeah, it's not named for Elon Musk. Elon Musk is ahead of his time, super brilliant dude shooting rockets up in the air. Pretty humble guy too, if you actually read and watch. They're built by a guy named Nikola Tesla, who designed stuff. He was so far in brilliance, ahead of his time and in science, that the stuff he designed couldn't even be brought into creation because other technology hadn't been caught up. When he died, they went in to get his papers to say, for posterity's sake, somebody had already broken in and stolen them so that their lives could be benefited by his brilliance, which was yet to come, because he was so far ahead of his time. And Jesus is saying this man is way ahead of his time. How do I know this?
Will Hawk:Paul tells us this in Romans 9. He says they are Israelites. God's people had incredible advantages given to them. This is why Paul, in the verse before, laments at the fact that they aren't believing in Jesus, laments to the point that he says something that I think all of us find like amazing. When Paul says I wrestle with if I could give up my faith in Christ, that my brothers would be able to find faith in Jesus. I would give up my eternal security that this nation would find eternal security in Christ. I'll go and tell you I'm not feeling that I love y'all so much, not feeling that. Okay, paul's a much better man than I am.
Will Hawk:But he looks back and he says it just doesn't make sense. It's not the centurion that should have faith, it's the religious leaders that should. How? Because to them belong the adoption. They've been part of God's family from the very beginning. Belong the adoption. They've been part of God's family from the very beginning. He is Abba, he is Father. They are the ones who have the glory. They saw fire come down from heaven. They were led by a cloud. A sea was ripped open so that they could walk through it and their enemies be dismayed. Quail were sent into a camp, manna fell from heaven, and on and on the stories of God's goodness go. They had this.
Will Hawk:Should they not also have faith? To theirs are the covenants, the promises that God made that they said they would, and then, when they broke them, god kept his promises anyway. They have the law, they know what life is supposed to be, how to live, how to navigate this world. They are the ones with true worship, tearing down idols in the lands that they go to and looking up and worshiping the one true God. They are the ones with the promises. And not only that, they have the best stories. They have the patriarchs. They have Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. They have Moses. They have all of these families, all of these people who have been faithful and God provided and been faithful and God provided. That is their own story, to the point that from their own race the Messiah is going to come. They have all of this.
Will Hawk:Should they not also have faith? And he looks to Hosea. This is the very next verse. I'm not checking. Look, it still says Romans. Right?
Will Hawk:So, paul, in thinking of this, he goes all the way back to the minor prophet Hosea and he says but you know what God's been doing? You know why flowers spring up in the desert? Do you know why faith finds people who it doesn't necessarily make sense, because Hosea promised this would happen those who are not my people, I will call my people. You should love that line. Apart from this line, you have very little hope. And her who is called, who is not beloved, I will call beloved. We're going to see a woman in just a minute that has lost everything, and Jesus steps in In the very place where it was said to them you are not my people. There they will be called sons of the living God. This is the centurion.
Will Hawk:So what do we do with this? That this group of people that had every advantage think about this the group of people that had every advantage, did not have a living act of faith in Jesus? What do we do with this? Well, paul wrestles with it himself. What then, shall we say? He goes on. What am I supposed to do with this? I've got Gentiles and I've got Jews with all of these advantages. Am I supposed to realize that Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained it, that this centurion, who didn't have the law, didn't have the advantages, didn't have the culture, that somehow he came to have faith in Christ, a righteousness that is by faith but, on the other hand, that Israel, who was pursuing a law, the right way to live that would lead to righteousness, that they didn't succeed? Why? This is the main thing, because they didn't pursue it by faith, but as if it was based on works. It was a bunch of people who had pay attention to this. It was a bunch of people that had every advantage, that knew every rule and they missed Jesus. And then this other group of people that had every advantage, that knew every rule and they missed Jesus. And then this other group of people that didn't grow up with every advantage, that didn't know the law. They see Jesus because all they can bring to him is their sin and their brokenness. This is what Paul points to, that there is a centurion who is building his life on Jesus while everybody else is tripping over him. They have stumbled over the stone.
Will Hawk:Your unrealized and unappreciated spiritual advantages can inoculate you from faith. When flu season comes around, I would imagine a lot of people go and get the flu shot. We skipped it last year, paid for it dearly, with the kind of pain that just doesn't go away for days. Or you can get a little shot. You know what's in that little shot? A little bitty bit of flu, not a big bit of flu, just a little bitty bit of flu. And that little bitty bit of flu comes in and it runs a little bit of havoc and you feel sore and you're a little achy and you're like, oh man, this is sort of miserable. And then do you know what happens? That itty bitty, little bit of flu keeps the big flu from coming.
Will Hawk:Well, the same thing can happen with our faith. We can have just a little bitty bit of Jesus. We can go to church occasionally. Maybe we can quote a Bible verse Jesus wept, and then you get your Jolly Rancher as a kid. All right, I'm nailing it, memorizing scripture, mom and dad. All right, how about a longer one? Let's not be hasty. Not by works, not by works. Right, we can have all of these little advantages and it can give us just enough so that a living, active faith is actually prevented for us. The reality is we ought to be humbled and grateful for the advantages that we have, for the advantages that you have had, rather than being entitled or assumptive.
Will Hawk:An easy way to figure this out is when you show up to church, do you feel like you are the blessing to the church? That means you're overvaluing yourself. You're saying good news will team, whatever, I'm here, just show me a place to sit. I'll listen for a little bit. I'm here for you. You open your Bible, god, don't worry, I'm here for you. Okay, I'm supposed to be doing this thing, so I'm going to. We go into prayer. God, I'm here for you. Who do you think you are? That you're that valuable? You're not.
Will Hawk:What this is pointing to the opposite of that is us not overvaluing ourselves. It's showing up to church and saying God, not what do you just have for me, but what do you have for me to be about while I'm here? How can I be loving, how can I be serving, how can I be open to you, doing something new and living and faithful? Who is it that spoke into your life, potentially when you were little? Today would be a great day to send a text message to that Sunday school teacher from 20 years ago, if they're still alive and say I just want you to know what you did mattered. This is what living in active faith is. This is what a humble, not overvaluing your faith looks like. It's not showing that you have come and you have arrived, so now everyone can be blessed around you. It is you humbly coming in and not overvaluing yourself, overvaluing instead the least among you and the stranger as you once were.
Will Hawk:Jesus did marvel in one other place in scripture. This only happens twice, by the way. Where Jesus marvels, he marvels at the centurion's faith. But I want to show you the one other place he marvels as well Mark 6. Jesus went away from there and came to his hometown. Well, this should go well.
Will Hawk:Everybody knows Jesus. They've had just a little bitty bit of Jesus. And his disciples follow him, and on the Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and many who heard him were astonished. They're amazed, and what are they blown away by? Where did this man get these things? What is this wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hand? We remember Jesus. He built that shelf for me that one time. How is it that he's leading thousands of people, bringing people back from the dead? What's the story going on here?
Will Hawk:Verse three this is where it all falls apart. Is not this the carpenter? The son of Mary and brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon Are not his sisters with us and they took offense at him? Look, we know who Jesus is. Okay, I don't know what God's doing. There might be something interesting going on. But Savior, lord, authority over all elements of life in my own life.
Will Hawk:And he marveled. Jesus is astounded, not because of their belief, but because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages instead of remaining with them. Kevin DeYoung says this. It seems, then there are two things that make Jesus step back and say wow. One, those who believe when it's not expected that they would like the centurion, and two, those who disbelieve when there's every reason that they should.
Will Hawk:Does Jesus ever marvel at you or me? I think. When he sees his people trusting in the midst of extreme suffering Many of you are he marvels. When he sees people from the roughest backgrounds Many of you came from that when they come to him with brokenhearted humility, jesus marvels. When he sees you give up comfort and security for the sake of his kingdom, he marvels. Isn't that amazing? But on the other hand, I fear that he may marvel at us for the wrong reasons sometimes. If I were a teenager or a 20-something and let me just jump in here, kevin DeYoung is from the north, we're from the south, let me add anyone who has grown up with a churchy background, of which is many of you If I were a teenager or a 20-something, or I had grown up in the church, I'd hate for Jesus to look at me and think here's a kid with loving parents, bible reading at the dinner table, prayers from his whole family, faithful, teaching at church, a comfortable home with lots of opportunities and encouragements, and yet this young person wants nothing to do with me. Amazing, that's not the amazement that you want from Jesus, it's not. So what do we do?
Will Hawk:I want to show you one last story before we close out, and this is a story of faith, but in a very, very different way. Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain. This is a very small town. It barely shows up in the pictures of the Bible. He leaves a hometown and ends up in this town, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. And as he drew near the gate of the town, behold I just want you to notice that word behold, because it's one of my favorite words in the entire Bible. When the Bible says, behold, what it's telling you to do is take out your pen and get ready to make a note, pull out your phone you need to jot something down Look a little more deeper and lean a little bit forward, because God wants to show you something of his character and of his nature. That's why, at Midtree, we define a Christian as behold, believe, become Somebody who's increasingly beholding who God is, believing in Christ and becoming the man or woman they were created to be. This is active living, not leaning back on a one-time decision, filling out a card, walking down the aisle. This is a living faith and Jesus wants you to behold something.
Will Hawk:A man who had died was being carried out. The only son of his mother he's got one kid and it's gone. And not only that, she was a widow and a considerable crowd from the town who was with her. Now the Bible tells us that this funeral is approaching the city gate. It's probably approaching the city gate because you're not allowed to leave a dead body in the city. It's considered unclean, which means this young man probably died that day.
Will Hawk:This woman has lost everything hours before this moment. Not only that, he's being carried out on a beer. If you want to know what that is, imagine a coffin and take off the top, and take off the four sides. In front of just a plank of wood with a body on top, in front of the entire community, is this woman who is losing everything. She looks at this young man and she sees probably a face that reminds her of her husband. She sees mannerisms that remind her of her lost husband, the tone of voice, the way that he operated, the way he picked up his coffee cup in the morning. She saw pictures of her husband and now she has lost even that. And the entire community so moved, recognizing that this woman is walking into loneliness and loss and emptiness because there's no husband to take care of her. There's no husband to take care of her, there's no children to take care of her and in that day and age, that was your whole social security net. She's not getting any checks from the government. So the whole community is bawling with her, walking with her, lamenting with her, until Jesus steps in and Jesus says something that every one of us would wreck.
Will Hawk:A funeral with Jesus says do not weep. Let me just challenge you not to be like Jesus in that way when you walk into a funeral. Okay, what are we weeping for? What's the problem, guy? No, it made sense for there to be tears. And Jesus steps in and he places his hand on this coffin, by the way, which would have been unclean, except he is resurrection, he is life, he is power, he is light. It doesn't infect him, he affects it. And he looks at this woman and he says do not weep.
Will Hawk:I'm a pretty confident guy. I feel like my wife likes me. I feel like my wife loves me.
Will Hawk:We have started watching a television show called Tracker I don't know if you guys are watching. That Happens to be a very attractive man who is the lead in Tracker, and when I'm watching it with my wife, I'm like let's not maybe enjoy the show too much. You know, let's take breaks Occasionally. You already fell in love with this guy during this Is Us. So now you've got this guy who's like this heartfelt sob story, who's come back and now he's doing all of this special set of skills while he's helping people and I'm like let's not lean into that. But honestly, that isn't what moves my wife. She doesn't care about the dude's haircut or his jawline or his muscle structure. Do you want to know what moves my wife? When a man cannot stand for a woman to be hurting? That's what moves my wife.
Will Hawk:When we were reading this together I'm just reading it Like I'm a dude. I'm like Jesus is powerful. How awesome is this? It's like death, nope, life. And my wife's like, yeah, but just imagine being that woman crying and somebody caring enough to say stop. And I'm like, okay, all right, I'm seeing a perspective here. I'm picking up on something that I don't, as a guy, lean in on.
Will Hawk:Jesus walks in with all of the compassion In fact we read this in verse 13. And when the Lord saw her, he notices this one solo, lonely woman who has lost everything. He had compassion, his heart rips for her and he tells her do not weep. He came up and touched the beer. The bear stood still. Imagine this moment Everything freezes, all sniffles, stop. Moment. Everything freezes, all sniffles, stop, all cries, quiet. Jesus had touched something he's not allowed to touch and he said something he's not allowed to say and everything freezes.
Will Hawk:Young man, I say to you, arise. You tell me what faith that man had. He was dead. You tell me what faith that woman had. She wasn't walking to Jesus. It seems like she didn't even notice. Jesus was there. He came to her and in this Luke takes faith number one that amazes Jesus, and faith number two, where Jesus steps in. He says do you want to know what faith looks like? Do you want to know how to have a living faith Christian? Are you a skeptic? Are you somebody who is like I don't know about this whole believing type thing? Are you a seeker? You've been digging, you've been looking, you've been doing some reading, but you just don't know if you can trust God with all authority over the things.
Will Hawk:He speaks to two very different situations and then he says something that may not stand out to you. The dead man sat up and began to speak and Jesus gave him to his mother. I don't even understand what that means. This is a grown man on top of a plank. It's like a little mini second miracle, right? What's going on there when Jesus does this?
Will Hawk:Scripture quotes 1 Kings. Jesus gave him to his mother and all of a sudden, all of the people see something. Their eyes begin to open, their hearts begin to beat, something begins to stir within them because that very same thing had happened. Those exact same words have been said in 1 Kings, when Elijah went to a widow and brought her son back from the dead. And they look at Jesus and all of a sudden they realize something and they exclaim and they worship God and they say a great prophet has arisen among us. This is not just a carpenter, there is something much bigger than this man. In fact, let's go one step further. God has visited his people, and in those two statements are every statement that people say about Jesus? Here's this really good teacher. He's a really great moral leader. He's even done some pretty neat things. But that is not authority for lordship. There's even the idea that God has visited, but Jesus has done much more than visit.
Will Hawk:These are the two different diagnoses of faith. Is Jesus a great prophet or is he Messiah, lord Savior? Story one begins with faith and hope. Story two has the exact opposite and both of them end the exact same way. And both of them end the exact same way. Why? To show you what faith is. You may be in this room struggling with faith. You may not even be wanting to draw near to God. I pray you are like story number two.
Will Hawk:Jesus walks through our small towns, influences our major leaders, cares about the seemingly insignificant woman left alone in her brokenness and loneliness. Why put these two things together? Because both of these examples of faith are required for your faith to be alive. Today we must recognize that God must move upon us when we are unworthy and we know that we are when we have nothing to bring to the table. And simultaneously, the moment that faith breaks into our heart, it changes who we are and the way we live, and we see Jesus as the authority over every element of our life.
Will Hawk:I think I love this text so much because it's all of us, for those with lots of faith and for those with very little, for those who are seeking Jesus like the centurion and for those who weren't even looking for him when you walked in. Today, he is more than a teacher and a prophet. He's Lord, and that changes everything. I'm not sure exactly what your faith looks like today, but I pray that if you are the one who is not drawn near to Christ, that you would realize in this moment that he is drawing near to you, that you would repent of your sin and trust in him, that when people tell you and when you tell yourself I'm worthy, I'm worthy, I'm good enough, that instead, a reality would dwell up deep within you where the Holy Spirit would say you are not worthy. You're not, but you're incredibly valuable to me, you're valuable enough for me. Will you have faith in me, guys, if y'all would go ahead and come on back in In just a moment? We're going to take communion, and we take communion. We're going to look at the broken body of Christ and the shed blood for Christ.
Will Hawk:If you're a Christian, this meal is for you, whether you're a member of midtree or not. If you are actively believing in Christ, this is for you. You got gluten-free. All right, gluten-free right here, newman, thank you. The point of running to Christ in this is to be reminded of the cost that he paid for each of us. If you are not a Christian, if you do not have saving faith, I would encourage you not to come and receive elements just because everybody else is.
Will Hawk:Watch people who are putting faith on display. Watch them as they are holding these things and singing truths back to God. Watch as they are praying. And if you are a Christian, maybe you, like the centurion, need to be the first one in line. You need to run, you need to get there quick, you want to hold it, you want to ponder, you want to think about it. Maybe, on the other hand, you need to remain seated for a while. We're not in a hurry. We're not in a rush. Maybe you need to ponder is my faith alive? Have I been overvaluing myself? What does humility look like for me? Have I been running towards Jesus? Do I feel like I am a gift wherever I arrive? Do I recognize how valuable I am because God created me and loved me.
Will Hawk:Stay seated, ponder, wonder, and if you need prayer, if you need to know how to take a step in faith, I and a couple of the leaders will be in the back. We would love to talk with you and pray with you. Stand with me, father, as we get ready to respond to communion, this age-old practice that your church has been doing. As we who are not adopted have been brought in, as we who have been adopted are brought into a family that we were not born into, may we be reminded, as we come to the family table, that we have a father who loves us, who listens to every one of our cries and prayers and, in one word you can change everything. Father, would you change everything? Would you give us a faith that is not yesterday's faith or last year's faith, but a faith for today? I pray all of these things in Christ's name, amen.