Just One Word.
Matthew 8:5-10NLT
The late Rev. Peter Marshall, great missionary to China, said these words, “If we all agreed to read one of the Gospels, until we came to the place that told us to do something, then went out to do it, and only after we had done it, begin reading again? I'll tell you exactly what would happen, God's kingdom would come and his will would be done!”
If only we were to act upon God’s word. This very word is what spoke the universe into existence.
Matthew 8:5-10NLT When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, 6 “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” 7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!
This officers servant was young, he lies in bed, paralyzed, and in terrible pain.
Testimony—I’ve seen pain and experienced it too. Fell out of a tree, and broke my arm. Fell off a hay truck. Ran into a brink wall playing football, Hit square in the head with a fast ball, I never saw coming.
About Desperation—Maybe this Roman officer’s faith was solely produced out of desperation. Desperation can quicken a person to pray, to look up for help.
This Roman officials faith would be labeled off the charts. He demonstrated complete trust in a word. Just speak the word…My servant will be healed.
John 1:1-2NKJV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
John 1:12NKJV But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
John 1:14NKJV And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Again, He states, “Just speak the word, and my servant will be healed.”
Always remember this, The believer’s appraisal can’t be measured because of the All-Mighty, it’s unlimited.
Remember this, “You can’t count the believer out! We know who to run to.” P.H
Paul goes through a litany of scenarios—Sickness? Persecution? Death? Prison? Darkness? Any peril imaginable?
This is what the Apostles Paul states in, Romans 8:31KJV What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Once more, Romans 8:31TM So, what does all this mean? If God has determined to stand with us, tell me, who then could ever stand against us?
Maybe you’re at the point right now, that you need God to speak a word.
Just one word. Repent, Turn from satan’s devices, turn from idols. Turn from quick fixes. Just one word, and you will know who to marry. Just one word, and you will know who not to marry. Lol. Just one word, and your prayers, hopes and ambitions can become reality.
Jeremiah 23:29NIV “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
God’s word like fire, It will set you on fire. A new zeal, a new passion. Maybe you’ve been like Lazarus, dead and smelly.
God’s word like a hammer, that breaks a rock in pieces. The stoney heart, the rocky ground, one word from God, everything can become new.
Look closely at the last two verses of the text again. Matthew 8:8-9TPT But the Roman officer interjected, “Lord, who am I to have you come into my house? I understand your authority, for I too am a man who walks under authority and have authority over soldiers who serve under me. I can tell one to go and he’ll go, and another to come and he’ll come. I command my servants and they’ll do whatever I ask. So I know that all you need to do is to stand here and command healing over my son and he will be instantly healed.”
He understood authority—I think this is the key to this Roman officer’s success—He understood authority. Again He states, I do what I’m told, and I speak to others with that same authority. P.H
This is my command to you, “Never give up the authority inherited to you.”
According to Luke 10:19, Jesus gave every believer complete authority in His name!
Look farther, and watch as Jesus’ word is in action: Mark 7:31-35TPT After this, Jesus left the coastland of Tyre and came through Sidon on his way to Lake Galilee and over into regions of Syria. 32 Some people brought to him a deaf man with a severe speech impediment. They pleaded with Jesus to place his hands on him and heal him.33 So Jesus led him away from the crowd to a private spot. Then he stuck his fingers into the man’s ears and placed some of his saliva on the man’s tongue. 34 Then he gazed into heaven, sighed deeply, and spoke to the man’s ears and tongue, (E-pa-tha),“Ephphatha,” which is Aramaic for “Open up, now!” 35 At once the man’s ears opened and he could hear perfectly, and his tongue was untied and he began to speak normally.
As Jesus uttered that one word, Ephphatha, (E-pa-tha) This word spoken over deaf ears, and mute tongue opened them!
I feel led to ask you, “What do you need the Lord to open up?”
The prophet Isaiah said, Isaiah 55:11AMP So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void (useless, without result), Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
Jeremiah 1:12AMP Then the Lord said to me, … “for I am [actively] watching over My word to fulfill it.”
Illustration: When you heard the gospel you responded—Repentance and forgiveness became major players. Jesus circumcises our hardened hearts, He gives us a heart of flesh.
What’s the secret to fruitfulness? Constant contact and intimacy with Jesus. Becoming— guilty because of association.
Jeremiah 17:7-8NLT “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
This I know—When seasons of adversity hit your life, that's when you discover if you were rooted to God’s strength or merely your own.
In Jeremiah 17:8, the Bible speaks of times of heat and drought:
When it speaks about heat, it’s speaking about pressures of life.
When it talks of drought, it speaks about seasons of crisis and lack.
Again, what’s the answer? Roots that reach deep into the water. What's the result? They never stop producing fruit.
Because of their roots, the Giant Redwoods in Northern California can withstand major forest fires.
If you were to measure the roots of a large Oak Tree they would stretch out for several hundred miles. That's why they're stable in the storms of life.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.
In closing, It all begins with just one word. Cry out with me, “Speak a word Lord!” Now tell Him you’ll speak a word.
One word from God has the power to— Restore, Replenish and Revitalize.
Benediction.
