Practical Faith - Receiving God’s Promises Series

Practical Faith

“Receiving God’s Promises”

Who in the Bible had the greatest faith? Was I Noah who built the Ark? Was it Abraham, the father of the Jewish race? Or was it one of the prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Elijah? Each of these and many others whose stories are found in the Bible displayed great faith. But the person with the greatest faith was the most unlikely of them all, a Roman Centurion.

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

Jesus had just entered the city of Capernaum, near the Sea of Galilee. The centurion came and pleaded for Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus then shocked the Jewish crowd saying that He would go with the centurion to his house and heal him.

But the centurion told Jesus that such a trip was unnecessary. He probably knew his house was unclean according to Jewish law, but more importantly he understood obedience and authority.

He said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it.” (Matthew 8:8-9 NKJV)

And the implication is that just as he is under authority and will do what those in authority say, so will those who are under His authority do what he says with no questions asked.

After hearing what the centurion said, Jesus marveled saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (Matthew 8:10 NKJV)

And then He said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” (Matthew 8:13) And at that very hour the servant was healed.

And so, what do we learn from the Roman Centurion, and what then is the key to having great faith and receiving God’s promises? The key to great faith and receiving God’s promises is linking God’s authority with our obedience. This understanding is what made the centurion’s faith so great. Faith and obedience go hand in hand. When you trust someone, you’ll do what they say. If you don’t, then the trust really isn’t there.

You see, God has linked trust in Him, i.e. faith, with obedience. Most of God’s promises are conditioned upon our following His directions. And when we do, then God says we’ll have success and live life to its fullest.

“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 given to us incredible promises and has linked them to our obedience, it’s the “if,” and “then,” promises of the Bible. If we obey what He says, then He promises that He’ll deliver us, watch over us, take care of us, and give to us our needs.

If we follow God’s directions then we’ll be happy, live longer, lack nothing good, live in perfect freedom, have greater wisdom, dwell in peace and security, have success and prosper, and be great in the kingdom of God.

Behind all of these great promises, however, is the premise of our obedience to God’s word.

God gives us His commandments so that we can live our lives to the fullest. And while God’s commandments may sound unfair and unreasonable, God knows what’s best. God’s not out to cramp our style or limit our lives. Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life, and that more abundantly.” (John 10:10 NKJV)

Now. from our perspective these commands don’t make a whole lot of sense. Like giving God the first ten percent of what we make, or the tithe. Or then there’s this, that if someone hurts us we’re suppose to forgive them, and not return their evil with our own.

But no matter how unreasonable these commandments may sound, God tells 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 us.

Obedience to God’s word is then our statement of faith, and it’s the key that unlocks all the promises of God. Today, I’d like to look at how we can receive God’s promises through our obedience.

1. Obey Immediately

Don’t delay, wait, procrastinate, put off, or make excuses. Instead we are to just do it.

“I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.” (Psalm 119:60 NIV)

If there’s ever a time to be in a hurry, this is it. When God tells us to do something we should do it immediately, whether we feel like it or not.