So Great Faith!
Pastor Michee Bade
Midland SDA Church
June 30, 2012
I. INTRODUCTION
1. Greetings
Dear brothers and sisters of the Midland SDA church. We as the Badé family (Elmire, Eliora, Elie-Dana and Michée) are very grateful to each one of you for:
1) your earnest prayers each Tuesday since 2006.
2) We are grateful for your generous donations for the past 7 years. These donations make your church our leading donor out of 200. Your generous contributions are today over $ 130,000. And this represents 1/3 of what our mission project has received during those 7 years. Thank you so much for your tremendous support to our mission project. By doing so you are playing an important role in proclaiming the gospel of our Lord and Savior to the Dendis our unreached people group who are 99.99% Muslims.
Yes our team work is fulfilling Mt 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
Please know that our family has been especially touched by your ministry as prayer partners and financial supporters.
* Your kindness
* Your friendship
* Your sympathy
* Your generosity
* Your Humanity
* You suffered when we suffered (armed robery case, spiritual attacks, car accident, isolation etc…)
* You rejoiced when we rejoiced and praised God (personal gift items to our family, Satellite dish, furniture, freezer etc…)
We marvel when we consider your support. But our prayer is that the Lord himself marvels when He will consider your support to his work and mission.
Actually there are only two instances in the bible where our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Marveled.
One was for Good Matthew 8:10, the unmatched faith of the centurion and
One was for bad Mark 6:6, And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
2. Transition
Our Message today is about our Lord Marveling for good…
Mt 8:1 ¶ When he came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
Mt 8:2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshiped him, saying, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. Mt 8:3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Mt 8:4 And Jesus said unto him, See you tell no man; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
Mt 8:5 ¶ And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
Mt 8:6 And saying, Lord, my servant lies at home sick, a paralytic, grievously tormented.
Mt 8:7 And Jesus said unto him, I will come and heal him.
Mt 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
Mt 8:9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it.
èMt 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Mt 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Mt 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mt 8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go your way; and as you have believed, so be it done unto you. And his servant was healed in the same hour.
Mt 8:14¶ And when Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother lying sick of a fever.
Mt 8:15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.
Mt 8:16 When the evening came, they brought unto him many that were possessed with demons: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:
2. DEVELOPMENT
2.1 MOTIVATION
Every morning all humans do the same thing. We get up, take a shower, brush our teeth, and then decide what we are going to wear. There is a saying the clothe does not make the monk, but the monk has a clothe. Generally in western culture it remains true that "Clothes make the man," or in the name of a popular website, "Clothes make the girl." You know what I'm talking about. Today people want to have:
"The right look."
To wear the "right duds"
So you can be the "right dudes." Even if you are not a "fashionista," it is almost impossible not to be
influenced by what the current culture says is "cool" (or "hot").
Who doesn't want to "look good" and so "feel good" about themselves
To either look their best or reveal their worst.
If someone fabulous and famous wears something, it will sell. But while all of us - whether teenager or ladder climbing corporate bureaucrat - think that our clothes lend us power and prestige, the opposite was the case for our Lord Jesus in Galilee in the first century...He had no clothes that will attract attention, but yet he was followed by multitudes. He had no clothes of royalty but yet gentiles believed in him, and rely upon his power.
Mt 8:5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
Capernaum the field of repentance; city of comfort.
Mt 8:5. Capernaum; his residence at this time. Mt 4:13.--Centurion; a Roman officer, commanding about one hundred men.
Mt 8:6 And saying, Lord, my servant lies at home sick, a paralytic, grievously tormented.
PARALYT'ICAL, Affected with palsy; deprived of the power of muscular motion; sometimes, weak; trembling; subject to an involuntary shaking; as a paralytic arm.
· Observe, 1. The person whom the centurion comes to Christ for: not for himself, not for his son, but for his servant. His servant is sick; Luke says he was dear to him. What a worthy example! Some masters have not so much regard for their sick servants as they gave to their oxen or their swine:
Mt 8:7 And Jesus said unto him, I will come and heal him.
Mt 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
Mt 8:9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it.
· Observe, 2. The happy mixture of humility and faith which was found in the centurion; he owns his unworthiness of having Christ come under his roof, yet he acknowledged Christ's power -- that by speaking the word his servant might be healed by him. Humility is both the fruit of faith, and the companion of faith; an humble soul has an high esteem of Christ, and a low esteem of himself.
· Observe, 3. The notice and observation which our Saviour takes of the centurion's faith; he wondered at it from him, who had produced it in him. Christ wrought this faith as God, and wondered at it as man; what can be more wonderful than to see Christ wonder? We do not find our Saviour wondering at worldly pomp and greatness. When the disciples wondered at the magnificence of the temple, Christ rather rebuked them, than wondered with them; but when he sees the gracious acts of faith, he is ravished with wonder.
Jesus---marvelled. Or wondered at his faith; or deemed it remarkable
The word faith, here, means confidence, or belief that Christ had power to heal his servant..
So great faith; such strong confidence in the power of Christ to do whatever he pleased.
In Isreal; among the Jews, whose spiritual advantages were much greater than those of any other people.
In one case besides, that of the Syro-Phoenician woman (Mt 15:28), also a Gentile, the Lord commends the greatness of faith.
Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is your faith: be it unto you even as you will. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Mr 9:19 He answered him, and said, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him unto me.
Mr 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.
PRAYER:
1) LORD teach me to place my admiration where you fix yours.
2) LORD , I believe; help my unbelief.
2.2. EXPLORATION
As missionaries we make these two prayers regularly. But we’ve made more frequently the second one. As missionaries working with self-supporting organization, while fundraising we’ve cried out many times to the Lord that he increases our faith.
-2006 / -2009 / -2012 /
-But one aspect of our mission work in Benin is the reality of the battle between our Lord and Satan.
-Over there the great controversy between evil and good is manifested in demon processions, in spiritual attacks, charms, spells, etc…Benin and voodoo…70-80% of the population profess pledging allegiance to the religion of their ancestors.
Student/èMarriage/èProfession/èChurch issues
The following seven themes are not the only ones that could have been chosen, but they are certainly among her most basic, and are prominent throughout her works.
1.The
Love of God
2.The
Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan
3.Jesus
Christ, His Sacrifice, His Heavenly
Intercession, and Salvation Through Him
4.The
Believer's Response--Love of God & Love of
Neighbor
5.The
Centrality of God's Word
6.The
Third Angel's Message and Seventh-day Adventist
Mission
7.The
Second Advent
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan
Another integrating theme in Ellen White's writings is that of the Great Controversy, the struggle between Christ and Satan. Ellen White emphasizes repeatedly that the focal point of the Great Controversy is Satan's aim to misrepresent the loving character of God--to portray God's law of love as an arbitrary law of selfishness. God's demonstration of His love in the ongoing conflict with Satan forms the focus of her five-volume Conflict of the Ages Series. The foremost demonstration of God's love was the sending of His Son Jesus Christ, who came not only to die for the human race, but to portray God's character of love in the face of Satan's accusations.
Rigobert or Lateefou Miraculous Healing from Sexual Impotence spell after a communion service
Mt 9:20 And, behold, a woman, who was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
Mt 9:21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
Mt 9:22 But Jesus turned about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; your faith has made you whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
Religion can get in the way of a relationship with God. Faith is not about rules, regulations and religion. It is about we human beings reaching out to a God who reaches out to us through Jesus Christ – who reaches into the pain and anguish of our living.
A business executive became depressed. Things were not going well
at work, and he was bringing his problems home with him every night.
Every
evening he would eat his dinner in silence, shutting out his wife and
five-year-old daughter. Then he would go into the den and read the
paper using
the newspaper to wall his family out of his life.
After several nights of this, his daughter one evening took her little
hand and
pushed the newspaper down. She then jumped into her father's lap,
wrapped her
arms around his neck and hugged him strongly. The father said
abruptly,
"Honey, you are hugging me to death!" "No, Daddy," the
little girl said, "I'm hugging you to life!"
This was the greatness of Jesus. He took people where they were and
hugged them
to life. That is precisely what we see Jesus doing here in this
dramatic
passage in Mark 5...
2.3. ASSIMILATION
Jesus has crossed the boundaries that had once defined the community, has rewritten the rules, and so has revealed a new day.
Make no mistake: this story is all about the creation of a New Israel. Mark seeded this story with clues.
How long had the woman been bleeding? Twelve years.
How old was the little girl Jesus raised? Twelve years.
No
Jewish person reading
this story could fail to see the repetition of the number twelve as a
symbol of
the twelve tribes of Israel.
Along
about the same time
that Jairus welcomed his little girl into the world, a women he didn't
know
began to hemorrhage. For twelve years this woman suffered. For twelve
years
this little girl grew and became ever-more-dear to her father. Both
women were
headed toward a rendezvous with Jesus on the very same day. Although
their
paths to Jesus were as different as could be, both of these daughters
of Israel
would point forward to the new community Jesus came to build.
III. CONCLUSION
3.1
APPLICATION
EGW
The Saviour longed to unfold to His disciples the truth regarding the breaking down of the "middle wall of partition" between Israel and the other nations--the truth that "the Gentiles should be fellow heirs" with the Jews and "partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel." Ephesians 2:14; 3:6. This truth was revealed in part at the time when He rewarded the faith of the centurion at Capernaum, and also when He preached the gospel to the inhabitants of Sychar. Still more plainly was it revealed on the occasion of His visit to Phoenicia, when He healed the daughter of the Canaanite woman. These experiences helped the disciples to understand that among those whom many regarded as unworthy of salvation, there were souls hungering for the light of truth. {AA 19.3}
Thus Christ sought to teach the disciples the truth that in God's kingdom there are no territorial lines, no caste, no aristocracy; that they must go to all nations, bearing to them the message of a Saviour's love. But not until later did they realize in all its fullness that God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us." Acts 17:26, 27. {AA 20.1}
3.2. ACTION
Take a moment to examine your life today. What is at the "eschatos" - the point of death - in your life right now? What part of your spiritual or relational life is barely breathing? Find ways to make those areas (family, friendships and faith) a higher priority than career and income. Do something different this week. Before scheduling anything else, book time with God, schedule an appointment with those in your own family. Then, after prioritizing God and your family, then set up the rest of the week.
The Wounded Healers
With all its imperfections, sins, blemishes, and warts, the Church
of Jesus Christ is the intended healer of the world's wounds.
Christians are
called to be compassionate, wounded healers.
Perhaps, Henri Nouwen, the Roman Catholic theologian, has said this
better than
anyone else. The author of many books, Nouwen speaks of Christians as
"wounded healers" who have compassion.
Compassion is not pity. Pity lets us stay at a distance. It is
condescending.
Compassion is not sympathy. Sympathy is for superiors over inferiors.
Compassion is not charity. Charity is for the rich to continue in
their status
over the poor.
Compassion is born of God. It means entering into the other person's problems. It means taking on the burdens of the other. It means standing in the other person's shoes. It is the opposite of professionalism. It is the humanizing way to deal with people. "Just as bread without love can bring war instead of peace, professionalism without compassion will turn forgiveness into a gimmick."
Qualification for the Gift of the Gospel
Jesus came to raise the dead. The only qualification for the gift of the Gospel is to be dead.
I don't have to be smart.
I don't have to be good.
I don't have to be wise.
I don't have to be wonderful.
I don't have to be anything...I just have to be dead. That's it.
Robert Farrar Capon
______________________
Jesus Brings Life
With whom do you most identify in today's gospel? There are plenty of characters here who are being stung by death.
There is a woman whose whole life has been caught, dominated by a terrible, life-demanding illness.
There is a distraught father. A little girl whose young life is being cut short.
There are the baffled disciples, the crowd who doesn't know what to think of all this.
Where are you?
And yet, intruding into the story is another face, the strong, live-giving face of Jesus. Mark says that Jesus was forever intruding into fixed, settled, hopeless situations and bringing life. Hear his strong voice speaking over the laments and dirges in today's gospel?
Hear him as he calls to the little girl, "Get up!"
I think he may be calling to you...
God Loves us, He always has, He always Will!