Say The Word | Pastor Eoin O'Sullivan

What kind of faith causes Jesus to marvel?

In Luke 7:1–10, a Roman centurion made a remarkable request: "Just say the word, and my servant will be healed." He understood that true authority wasn't found in someone's physical presence but in the power of their word.

This message explores what it means to trust the authority of God's Word, guard against becoming too familiar with the things of God, and stand on biblical truth when the enemy speaks lies. Our faith isn't about how great we are, it's about how great our God is.

No matter what you're facing today, God's Word is still true, His promises still stand, and His grace is still enough.

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Springs Church podcast. We are so glad you joined us. Our mission is to reach the lost by raising up fully trained disciples that are empowered by God to impact their world. We pray that you are challenged and encouraged as you listen to this week's message.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

The title of this morning's message is Say the Word. And I'm reading from Luke chapter 7. I'm going to read verse 1 to 10 to set the tone for us today. It's a very well-known passage of scripture on the centurion's servant where whom was sick. Verse 1 says, Now, when he concluded all his sayings in the hearing of the people, that being Jesus, he entered Capernaum, and a certain centurion servant who was dear to him was sick and ready to die. So somebody in this Roman centurion's house is sick and he is close to death. Verse 3, when he heard about Jesus, the centurion sent elders of the Jews to him, pleading with him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they begged him earnestly, saying that the one for whom he should do this was deserving, for he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them, and when he had already was already not far from the house, the centurions sent friends to him, saying to him, Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not even think myself worthy to come to you. But say the word and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, go and he goes, and to another, come, and he comes, and to my servant do this, and he does it. And when Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him and turned around and said to the crowd that followed him, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel. And those who were sent returned to the house, finding the servant who was well and healed, who had been sick. Here we find this fascinating story of the centurion servant. A centurion servant, by the account of Scripture, was respected even by the elders of the Jews who came and pleaded on behalf of this Roman centurion that Jesus would hear his case because he had been good to their people. He had helped build them a synagogue. And so he is pleading on their on his behalf that Jesus would hear this case and would in fact hear them. This is an incredible story because the reality in that time is the Romans were the people of God's enemies. They were their enemies. They were the people who were oppressing and ruling over Israel and Jerusalem at that time. And many of the Jews believed that when the Messiah would come, in fact, he would overthrow the Roman occupation. He would cast out all of the Roman soldiers and he would restore this national identity of Israel. And so this Roman centurion was one who, in many ways, was opposite to everything that the Jews would have believed the Messiah would have stood for. He was one in great authority overseeing over a hundred soldiers, was by definition what that centurion means. He was a gentile outside of uh the the Israelite um uh uh covenants, as it would, and he was a pagan, a man of war, Jesus being a man of peace. And so he comes and he pleads and he asks these elders to go on his behalf and to plead with Jesus for his servant that is sick. Now thank God that we can have people that are praying for us, that will go on our behalf and go before God in our time of need and and and cry out. I say, God bring healing, God bring restoration. We know that what that's like. We've had situations in our family with myself and Sarah when she was going through a battle with sickness, and we had many people in the church that stood in the gap and prayed and sought God, and we believe we we we we we had the effect of many people praying and and seeking the Lord on our behalf. Thank God for people like that. And you may you may even have you may be here this morning because you know you're you have a spouse who loves God, and your attitude might be, well, if she if she goes before God, if she prays on my behalf, or a husband, if he goes and he prays on my behalf, thank God for sons and daughters and husbands and wives and co-workers and colleagues and neighbors that do stand in the gap and pray. And it seems like he sends out these elders to put in a good word before Jesus. But I love what happens. Jesus doesn't just hear the pleas of others, he begins to walk towards the house of the that of that Roman centurion himself. No matter what had gone on in that house, no matter what the condition of that house was, no matter for what reason he felt that he was unworthy for Jesus to even enter his home. It didn't matter to Jesus, he was going to his house anyway. He was going to enter into the mess, the whatever was was in his home. Maybe it was it was it was uh just a culture of the difference between the Romans and the Jews. Maybe it was because he felt his house wasn't prepared for having Jesus come. Maybe it was because there was uh idolatry inside his house, but for whatever reason, this Roman soldier did not feel worthy for Jesus to enter into his house. But Jesus goes walking there anyway. See, you can have everybody you want pleading for you, but can I tell you, Jesus isn't just interested in your neighbor or your spouse, he's interested in you, and he's not so much concerned about what he will find there as much as he is on how he can redeem you there, and he he can deliver you there, and how he can rescue you there. And though there may be somebody sick, or there may be something sick, or there may be something broken in your house, God is still the answer. Jesus is still got the ability, he came to rescue, he came to redeem, he came to restore. In fact, it's for this very Roman centurion, he came to it to earth to to break apart, to divide, to break down that middle wall of separation. Neither Jew nor Gentile, but that but but that all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now, here is this this this Roman, he he's looking up and he sees Jesus coming towards him. That wasn't in his plan, so he runs out. He said, He in according to the account of Matthew, and he says, He says, Jesus, I'm not worthy for you to enter into my house. What a picture of humility. But he says, But if you would just say the word, ooh, if you would just say the word, then my servant who's sick shall be healed. I know what it's like to be under authority, I know what it's like to be able to tell someone to go and they go, or tell one somebody to come and they come. I know what authority is all about, and Jesus says, marvels at this man's faith. The man who feels unworthy now is the person that Jesus is marveling at his faith. You know, I've shared a story before, but I liken it to unto the time that me and Kelly and my oldest were traveling back from being in Ireland. We were there by ourselves, and we're traveling back on the plane. And as we're coming into Jacksonville, there's some of those summer storms that are overhead. And as we're flying in, it's dark, and there's there's thunderstorms everywhere. And the pilot is determined that he's going to land in Jacksonville. So he's start circling the uh uh around Jacksonville, waiting for an open opportunity to land. But as every time he comes in, he goes through these storm clouds, and it's like if you're have a fear of flying, it's like your worst nightmare. The plane would just drop in the sky, and you would just be caught by your seatbelt, and your stomach would be in your mouth. And I'm a I I fly regularly enough, so you know, not so bad, but certainly there was a moment, a few moments where you're like, this is a little bit intense. And I was, you know, I always wondered if anybody actually used the barf bags, you know, the little paper bars that they put. I realized that day that lots of people used the barf bags. It was going all over the place. The guy next to me was barfing, but then Killian was on the was on the window seat next to me, and every time the plane would go, all you hear with Killian was wee, do it again, do it again. While you people behind calling their mommy, mom, I don't know that I'm gonna make it. A Killian's over here, we you know, it took the same amount of faith to get into the same airplane, to believe that that plane could get them from destination to destination B. See, it didn't matter the condition of the fate, it mattered the power of the plane to get us from destination to destination B. Now I believe when it comes to faith that our faith cannot rise higher than our view of God. If you've got a low view of God, your faith cannot rise above it. As Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China, says, it matters not if we have great faith. What matters is that we have faith in a great God. We have we can overemphasize faith. No, it's faith who we have faith in, it's faith in God, and he's a great God, and he's an awesome God, and it's a privilege that we can come in here and lift up our hands and worship Jesus, who's the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, don't ever forget us. It's a privilege, it's a privilege, and this centurion, oh, he got something that we need to get. He realized I'm not worthy. Can I tell you I'm not worthy? And you're not worthy. We've all sinned, we've all fallen short of God's glory standard. And if everybody knew what every thought, every idea, every place that you've gone, if everybody knew, then you wouldn't even feel worthy to be in the sanctuary either, or the person next to you probably wouldn't feel that you're worthy to be in the sanctuary. But thanks be to God that he knows everything about us and he still loves us and he still goes into our house and he still comes into our home and he still wants to redeem and he still wants to restore. Thanks be to God. Oh, I watched yesterday at that outreach as Pastor Illy and Courtney were up there and they were doing the inn where they're giving out some of the prizes and all this, and then they're sharing the gospel. I watch families come forward, and I watch people rally around and pray. And I'm looking at the small, there's no headlines, there's no newspapers, there's no uh um uh cable news watching in on this, but I'm looking at people who are praying the prayer of salvation, and I'm believing that in their household that the God is taking people out of the kingdom of darkness and taking them in to the kingdom of his marvelous light. He marveled at their faith. I wonder, does Jesus marvel at our faith today? Oh, just say the word, just say the word. Whatever your word says, God, we're gonna stand upon your word. If you said it in your word, then we're gonna believe it. If it's in your word, I can stand behind that word, I can stand on that word. I believe it will be so if it says it in your word. Do we really believe that? Do we really have faith in the word of God? You know, I think the greatest danger to us as the church today in 2026 is not the fear, but it's familiarity. Look what happens in Mark chapter, Mark chapter 6, real quickly, in verses 1 to 6. It'll come up on the screen. It says that he came into his own country, and his disciples followed him. And when the Sabbath had come, Jesus he began to teach in the synagogue, in the synagogue, and many hearing him, tell. I just here's the Roman centurion who built a synagogue. Here is Jesus teaching in a synagogue, and many are hearing him, his own people, and they're astonished. But look at their response, his own people, the people he came to, the the the people who are sitting there listening. Where did this man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to him? Now such mighty works are performed by his hands. Now, listen, here it is. Is this not the carpenter? The son of Mary and his brother of James, Hosea, Judas, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? So here it is. They were offended by him because they had become so familiar with their own context that the word of God that became flesh and dwelt among them, they became offended at the word because they began to look at the word through their context that they've seen around them. Oh, that the brothers and sisters of Christ, the church. How could God show up in a place like this? I know the inconsistencies of the people who were in this room. I know the failures and the faults and the ups and the downs and the humanity of the people. How could Jesus ever be doing something worthy of our attention? Isn't it a privilege that we would even come into the synagogue and that he would have the privilege of our presence listening to him when we know where he came from? I know that share. That share was made by his family. Jesus made that share, and now he wants to talk about being the bread of life. Now he wants to talk about being the miracle worker, now he wants to talk about being the Messiah, the Son of God. Who does he think that he is? It wasn't the fear of God that's the beginning of wisdom that was the hindrance to their fate. No, it was familiarity. We got to be careful, church, of familiarity. We got to be careful that we don't come in here, we see water baptisms and we see God getting saving people, and we're just like, oh, yeah, yeah. Is that all you got? Is that all you got? See, I want us to be careful, church, because we're living and I'm living in a society that is championed in the church, the seeker-friendly church. Now, I'm not bashing seeker-friendly. I believe, I believe our mission statement here is to reach the lost and raise up fully trained disciples. But we don't place the congregation ahead of God. We don't place people above the Holy Spirit. We don't hear what I'm trying to say here this morning. We've made we've made people God instead of God being God. He's the great I am. When we walk in here, sometimes the attitude be, man, they should be privileged that I showed up at church today with my Bible under my belt. They should be privileged to have giftings and talents and callings and anointings like me sitting in in this place today. No, the centurion knew something different. Jesus, I'm not even worthy. I'm not even worthy that you would show up in my house. But if you would just speak the word, then I know that it can happen. I know that it can be made well. Let me just tell a quick story. There's a famous story of um John Bevere, who's a great preacher, teacher, writer, and he was called upon by an old televangelist named Tim Baker, who was a famous televangelist that ended up in a scandal where he ended up going to jail because of financial fraud and a lot of different things. And when John Bevere was called upon Tim Baker to give him counsel, he went there and he began to ask him questions. And he said he recalls telling the story. He began to ask Tim, he said, Tim, Tim, when did you stop loving Jesus? Was it when you had the affair? Was it when you began to cheat people of their money? When did you stop loving Jesus, Jim? And Jim turned around and he said to John, he said, John, I never stopped loving Jesus. And Jim's like, True at all? You're telling me you still love Jesus even when you were doing all this. He's like, I never stopped loving Jesus. The problem is, John, is that I stopped fearing him. He's a holy God. My prayer is that God would return us back to a place of reverence. God would return us back to a place where we can stand in awe. That God could save a sinner like me. I was once lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. I was a beggar, but God has rescued me and He's redeemed me. He watches over me. And if His Word says it, then I can stand upon His word. See, this centurion understood authority, didn't he? He understood it. He understood what it was like if the Emperor was to send a letter with the seal of the Emperor Caesar and was to send it all the ways from Rome down to Jerusalem. It may have taken days to get there through the couriers, through all the different people to deliver it. But when it got into his hands, if it had the seal of Caesar on it, it did not matter how long it took to get to him, and it did not matter how much distance was between him and the emperor. When he opened up that seal and he read that document, whatever was on that document, the authority of the most powerful person in the world at that time, he knew that he had to submit to the authority of Caesar or face consequences. He knew distance and time was no match for the authority from the person and the place that it was written in. And sometimes we come into the house of the Lord, and let me tell you, it may feel like God is distant sometimes. It may feel like it's been a long time since we heard a word from the Lord. But can I tell you when you open up this word, there's no match to distance, there's no match to time. Every word that is written in this Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit, it's come from God. Jesus was the word, it became flesh, and it dwelt among us. The word, you know, and what does the enemy want to do? What did he do to Jesus when Jesus was fasting for 40 days and 40 nights? The enemy came in and began to whisper doubt into his mind. But Jesus, every time, he would go back and he would say, Devil, it is written the man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mount of God. When the enemy would tell him to turn stones into bread. You know, we can go to the word to counter every thought and accusation of the enemy. See, I want you to know not just about the word, I want you to know the words. I want you to know who he is, that the word still stands today, church. The word still stands. I want us to go through some of these this morning. That when the enemy comes, number one, and the enemy comes and he begins to tell you, nobody cares about you. You begin to open up the word, and you find yourself in 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 7. Nobody cares about me. Actually, no enemy. The Bible says that I can cast all my cares upon him. You know why? Because he cares for me. Oh, but you're all alone. Not only does nobody care about you, but you're all alone. If somebody cared for you, then you wouldn't be all alone. Oh, but the right of Hebrews chapter 13, verse 5 says that Jesus, that he will never leave me and he will never forsake me. Hallelujah. He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother. No, the enemy will say, You don't belong at the Springs Church. You don't belong in any church. You don't fit in with those Christians. You can't. Who do you think you are? You don't belong. And you open up the Paul's letter to the Ephesians in chapter 2, verse 90, say you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens and saints and members of the household of God. It doesn't matter what you say about me, enemy. I know I'm a member of the household of God. How about that for a membership class? Yeah, but God doesn't really love you, He doesn't really love. Oh, oh enemy, oh accuser of the brethren. Paul wrote in Romans chapter 5, verse 8. But God He didn't just tell me He loved me, He demonstrated His love towards me. And that while I was still a sinner and my worst, Christ died for me. Yeah, but you're too much of a sinner. Well, 1 John chapter 1, verse 9 says there's a scripture for that too. If you we confess our sins, he is what? He's faithful and just to forgive us. Can I just keep going for a little while this morning, church? Can I just read through some of these? Somebody needs to hear it. Somebody walked in here thinking with their head cast down low, saying, Oh, I failed again. I failed again. And we go to Romans chapter 8, verse 1, and we say, But there is no, therefore, no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. But God will never. Forgive you. Psalms chapter 103, verse 1 and 3 says. Bless the Lord, oh my soul. And all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Here it is. He forgives all your iniquities. And he heals all your diseases. I'm standing on God's word. He's my healer. I don't know when my healing's coming, but He's promised me healing. But you are defined by what you did. No. 2 Corinthians 5.17. For those going through the waters of baptism, as you get ready to come up here for the waters of baptism, if you're a candidate, you can start getting your way just slowly. And you know, as you are going through those waters of baptisms, you know, you'll go through these waters, and somewhere down the line, maybe it'll be just this week, the enemy will come back and say, You're still what you did. And you'll remind the enemy, I'm a new creation in Christ Jesus. And then the enemy will say, God could never use somebody like you. You just take your seat, you just stay stay where you're at. You just stay right in your seat. Don't worry about it. I'm not talking to those who're going for water baptism. You keep going. Talking about everybody else. Hallelujah! For my strength is made perfect in weakness. Oh, you're too weak. But the prophet Isaiah says, Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. But fear is your future. No, God has not given us a spirit of fear. God's not listening to your prayers. Oh, you haven't read anything. If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. He hears my prayers. Oh, God will provide you, he's gonna let you down along the way. My God shall supply all of my needs according to his riches and mercy. You have no future. I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, to give you a hope and to give you a future. Oh, but here's what it's not worth it. These hardships are just not worth it. How many more blows are you gonna take? You know how many times the enemy has spoken that to me since I've been in ministry? It's not worth it anymore. How many hits are you gonna take? And then I remind myself that Paul said in Romans chapter 8 that the sufferings of this present time they're not even worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed. Hallelujah. It's too late for you. He might say it's too late for you. No, he's the one who restores to me the years of the dreaded locusts of Eden. You'll never be healed. How many of you is believing for healing in this house this morning? How many's got something you're asking God for? The Bible says in Isaiah chapter 53, verse 5, by his stripes we are healed. And if it's in his word, then who are we to argue with it? Oh, but death will have the final word. No, no, no, death will not have the final word because Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life, and he who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. Come on, let's give God praise in this house together. If God said it, then who am I to doubt it? If God's put it in there, who am I to fear? If God says it, then who am I to walk away? If God says it, then that's enough for me. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. Come on, if you're able to set your feet across this place, we're gonna worship the Lord, hallelujah! Can we just take a moment as we get ready for the baptisms as they're coming forward? Can we just worship for a moment? Come on, let's lift our hands to the Lord across this place. Let's lift our hands to the Lord across this place. Come on, every hand across this place. If you feel comfortable doing so, to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, to the one we should be. I'm not worthy, but because of the blood of Jesus and because of Calvary, I can sing and I can worship and I can magnify the Lord. I've been washed by the blood, I've been washed by the Savior. Let us worship the Lord for just a moment.

SPEAKER_00 26:06

Thanks for listening to the Springs Church podcast. We pray that you were encouraged, uplifted, and challenged by the message today. If you need prayer or want to learn more about the church, we would love to connect with you. Visit the New Here page on TFCjacks.com. We pray you have a great week walking in all that God has for you.