Becoming a friend of God Part 13
“A Friend of God Believes God has the power
to do the impossible If He Chooses to”
Mike
Barnett
Matthew 8:1-13 (pg.
686) says:
1When he came
down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2A man with leprosy[a] came and knelt before him and said,
"Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."
3Jesus reached out his hand and touched
the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately
he was cured[b] of his leprosy. 4Then Jesus said to him,
"See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and
offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." 5When Jesus
had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.
6"Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in
terrible suffering."
7Jesus said to him, "I will go
and heal him."
8The centurion replied, "Lord, I
do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my
servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers
under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he
comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
10When Jesus heard this, he was
astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have
not found anyone in
13Then Jesus said to the centurion,
"Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant
was healed at that very hour.
·
In
this story we see two men asked God for help.
·
One
was a leper at the bottom of the social strata as an outcast.
·
The
other was a centurion – who being a military leader was near the top of the
social latter in that culture.
·
The
leper declared that God could do the impossible.
1) Friends of God _____________________(declare)
that God can accomplish the ____________________(impossible) if He
_______________________(chooses) to. Vs. 1-2
1When he came
down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2A man with leprosy[a] came and knelt before him and said,
"Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 3Jesus reached out
his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be
clean!" Immediately he was cured[b] of his leprosy. 4Then Jesus said to him,
"See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and
offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
2) FRIENDS OF
GOD SUBMIT TO CHRIST __________________________(LORDSHIP) AND
______________(WILL)! V. 2
"Lord, if
you are willing, you can make me clean." V. 2
·
He
did not demand that God heal him – He just stated, Lord you can heal me if you
are willing”.
THE EXAMPLE OF
SHADRACH, MESHACK AND ABENDEGO!
Daniel 3:1-30
(pg. 627) says:
1 King
Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet [a] wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in
the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers,
treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come
to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects,
governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other
provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King
Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed,
"This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every
language: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre,
harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of
gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and
worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."
7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the
sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the
peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of
gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
8 At this time some astrologers [b] came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They
said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever! 10 You have issued a
decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither,
lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image
of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into
a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the
affairs of the
13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar
summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the
king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have
set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp,
pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the
image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown
immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you
from my hand?"
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves
before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the
God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand,
O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will
not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He
ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some
of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes,
trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing
furnace. 22 The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the
flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to
his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men
that we tied up and threw into the fire?"
They replied, "Certainly, O
king."
25 He said, "Look! I see four men
walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a
son of the gods."
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the
opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!"
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out
of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded
around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair
of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of
fire on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said,
"Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his
angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's
command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship
any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any
nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble,
for no other god can save in this way."
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego in the
17 If we are
thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it,
and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we
want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image
of gold you have set up."
·
FRIENDS
OF GOD BELIEVE GOD IS ______________(ABLE) TO DELIVER ME, HE ______________(WILL) DELIVER ME, BUT EVEN IF GOD CHOOSES NOT TO DELIVER
ME, I WILL ___________(OBEY) AND __________________(WORSHIP) HIM ANYWAY!
·
Friends
of God are surrendered people.
3) FRIENDS OF
GOD TELL JESUS THEIR __________________(PROBLEMS) BECAUSE
THEY KNOW HE HAS BOUNDLESS _________________________(RESOURCES). Vs. 5-6
5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a
centurion came to him, asking for help. 6"Lord," he said, "my
servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." 7Jesus
said to him, "I will go and heal him."
·
A
centurion was a Roman military officer in charge of 100 soldiers.
·
In
this story a centurion ask Jesus for help because his servant was paralyzed and
in agony.
·
The centurion
was a man of faith!
·
He
believed the teachings of Jesus like Mark
Mark 11:22-25
says:
22"Have[a] faith in God," Jesus answered.
23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw
yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what
he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever
you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him,
so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."[b]
·
The
Centurian did not formally ask Jesus for help, he just told him the problem and
stated that be believed Jesus could heal him if he wanted to.
·
Jesus
must have known what was in his heart because he told the centurion that He
would go and heal his servant.
·
Jesus
knows we have problems and he is just waiting for us to tell him our pain.
4) FRIENDS OF
GOD KNOW THEY DO NOT ________________________(DESERVE) GOD’S ________________________(BLESSINGS). V. 8
8The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not
deserve to have you come under my roof.
Romans
23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God,
5) FRIENDS OF
GOD ASK FOR BLESSINGS ANYWAY NOT BASED ON WHO THEY ARE, BUT BECAUSE OF WHO GOD
IS – ________________________(GRACIOUS) AND ________________________(MERCIFUL)!
Vs. 8-9
6) FRIENDS OF
GOD ARE _____________________(HUMBLE), MEANING THEY
ARE ________________________(CONFIDENT) IN GOD AND HAVE _________________(FAITH)
IN HIS ___________________(WORD). V. 9
“But just say the word, and my servant will
be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I
tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to
my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
·
Our
culture teaches that humility is a deep sense of guilt,
____________________(shame) and condemnation, but that is not biblical humility
at all – but rather the flip side of ________________(pride) because such a person
is still focusing on _________________________(themselves) and not on God who
freed them from all condemnation in Christ.
Romans 8:1-2
says:
1Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] 2because through
Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and
death.
·
Authentic,
biblical humility is putting your ________________________(confidence) in
________________(God) and not in yourself or other people.
Hebrews 11:1-6
says:
1Now faith is
being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what
the ancients were commended for….6And without faith it is impossible to please
God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he
rewards those who earnestly seek him.
6) FRIENDS
OF GOD REALIZE THEY ARE JUST RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ________________(FAITH) –
GOD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE __________________(REUSLTS) REGARDLESS OF WHAT THAT
MAY BE. Vs. 10-13
“10When Jesus
heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you
the truth, I have not found anyone in
Galatians 6:7-8
says:
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps
what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful
nature, from that nature[a]will reap destruction; the one who sows to
please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Romans 12:3-4
says:
3For by
the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more
highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in
accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has
one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same
function.
·
OUR
FAITH CAN BE NURTURED AND __________________________(MATURED) THROUGH THE
HEARING OF GOD’S WORD!
Romans
7Consequently, faith comes from hearing the
message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
7) FRIENDS OF GOD DO NOT TAKE THE RESULTS OF THEIR
PRAYERS _______________________(PERSONALLY).
GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS PRAYER IN THE FORM OF
1)_________(NO) – This is not my best for you.
NOTE: Sometimes it takes more
______________(faith) to accept God’s __________(no) than it does for the
desire we were seeking to come to pass.
2)______________(SLOW) – This is my best for you, but the
timing is not right.
3)____________(GO) – This is may best for you and the
timing is perfect!
·
God uses the ___________________(process) of
answered or “unanswered” prayer to build and mature of faith in Him!
·
Our focus ought to be on God who can do the
impossible, not on the results.
·
When we focus on what God can do for us
instead of focusing on who God is for us, we loose focus and act just like the
world around us.
·
We must learn to Seek God’s
_______________(face) (Who He is to us) and not just His
____________________(hand) (What he does for us).