Elevate To The Next Level: "Living In God’s Promises”

Elevate to the Next Level

“Living in God’s Promises”

Watch on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcmzI59k0rs

Here's a question I’d like you to consider for a moment.

Who in the Bible showed the greatest faith? Was it Noah, who built the Ark? Was it Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation? Or was it the prophet Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Elijah? Each of these, and many more whose stories are in the Bible, demonstrated great faith. However, the person with the greatest faith was the most unlikely of all— a Roman Centurion.

The story is found in the eighth chapter of Matthew’s gospel.

Jesus had just entered the city of Capernaum, near the Sea of Galilee. The centurion came and begged Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus then surprised His Jewish audience by saying that He would go with the centurion to his house and heal his servant.

Now, it wasn’t the fact that He was going to heal the servant that shocked them, but that Jesus was going to the centurion’s house. For you see, oral tradition stated that if you entered the house of a Gentile, you would become defiled.

But the centurion told Jesus that such a trip wasn’t necessary. He probably knew his house was unclean according to Jewish law, but more importantly, he understood obedience and authority.

He said, “All you have to do is speak the word, and it’ll be done, because not only am I a man under authority, but I have men under my authority, and if I tell them to do something, they’ll do it.” (Matthew 8:8-9 Paraphrased) The implication is that they’ll do it without question.

After hearing what the centurion said, Jesus marveled and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.” Then He said to the centurion, “Go your way, as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” (Matthew 8:10, 13)

And it says that at that very hour the servant was healed. Now, from this story, is the key to having great faith.

The key to great faith is linking God’s authority with our obedience.

 This understanding is what made the centurion’s faith so great. You see, faith and obedience go hand in hand. When you trust someone, you’ll do what they say. If you don’t, then trust really isn’t there. But isn’t that what Noah, Abraham, and the rest of the greats of faith did?

And the answer is obviously yes, but consider this: The Centurion wasn’t Jewish. He didn’t know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. However, what he did know is that wrapped up in Jesus is all the power and authority of God. In other words, it is the kind of faith that says, “If Jesus said it, I believe it, and that settles it.”

God has linked trust in Him—that is, faith—with obedience. And so, here’s another key to great faith. All of God’s promises are conditioned on our following His directions. And when we do, God says we’ll have success and a life lived to its fullest.

And guess what, this isn’t just New Testament stuff I’m talking about; it dates all the way back to the Old Testament.

“Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.” (Deuteronomy 5:33 NIV)

God has made incredible promises and linked them to our obedience. It’s what is known as the “if,” and “then,” promises of the Bible. If we obey what He says, then He promises that He’ll save us, watch over us, take care of us, and provide for our needs.

If we follow God’s directions, we are told that we’ll be happy, live longer, lack nothing good, experience perfect freedom, gain greater wisdom, dwell in peace and security, achieve success and prosperity, and be esteemed in the kingdom of God.

Therefore, behind God’s promises is the premise of our obedience to His word.

God gives us His commandments, which aren’t just suggestions. They’re in His word so we can live our lives to the fullest. And while God’s commandments might seem unfair or unreasonable, God always knows what’s best. God’s not trying to cramp our style or limit our lives.

Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life, and that more abundantly.” (John 10:10b NKJV)

From our perspective, these commands don’t make much sense, like giving God the first ten percent of what we make. It’s called the tithe. Or if someone hurts us, we’re supposed to forgive them, not return their evil with our own.

But no matter how unreasonable these commandments sound, God instructs us to obey anyway. It’s a matter of trust, it’s a matter of faith, and since God created us, He knows what’s best for our lives.