Live Free with Josh Howerton - Societal Rankings VS. People’s Value | Ep. 417 | Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Episode Date: September 10, 2024

The Centurion Soldier mentioned in Luke 7 wasn't a flawless religious figure, yet he profoundly understood true authority and leadership. He recognized the extraordinary power within Jesus because both leaders grasped the importance of valuing individuals regardless of their position in society. “So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: ‘Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.’” (Luke 7:6-7 NIV) For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, what is up, everybody? Thanks for joining us on the Daily Drive. I'm Mike Bro, and we've been taking a look at some one-on-one encounters that people have with Jesus.

And, man, I hope this gives you some insight into the heart of God and inspires you to want to get to know Jesus better and to become more like him, which is God's goal for all of us, by the way. We started the story yesterday from Luke chapter 7. It's an encounter that Jesus has with this blue-collar, hard-working, good-hearted military guy. Some of you read the story yesterday. But let's dive into the story, starting in verse number one. Jesus had just finished what is commonly known as a sermon on the mount.

And then Luke writes this. When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Copernum. There a centurion servant whom his master valued highly was sick and about to die. Now, just a quick explanation of what a centurion was. This guy was a Roman military officer with a rank somewhere between current, and lieutenant, most likely a captain, who was responsible for the command of 100 soldiers, hence the title Century Inn. So this guy, he understands the chain of command.

He knows authority. He had worked his way up through the ranks. That's just the highly structured Roman world he lived in and served in every day. Well, Jesus' reputation was spreading everywhere, the things he had said, the miracles he had performed, the way he interacted with and included all kinds of people, it says this in verse 3. The centurion, this commander, heard of Jesus. He knew of his reputation. And he sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him. This man deserves to have you do this,

because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue. Now, this is kind of cool because the Jewish people really hated the Roman occupation and all those who represented Rome's domination and authority. And Roman soldiers were notorious for powering up on people and pushing folks around and flaunting their authority. So it's pretty astounding that they, his enemies, would say, hey, this is a good man. He's a really good man. He deserves for you to do this. This guy was uncommonly respected

by the Jewish leaders. And I think verse two gives a little insight into his character. Let me read it again. They're a centurion servant whom his master valued highly was sick and about to die. Now in Roman culture there was a social ladder and servants were below the bottom rung. Servants or slaves were seen as property, not people. They had value only as they were useful,

not because they had any intrinsic worth. They were seen as disposable property. And you know what? It's still hard for me to fathom that that was part of our culture just 160 years ago. But when any culture starts, the rank the importance of people, ego rears its ugly head, and the people on the rung below you, they always get devalued. This is one of the things I love most about this man in the story,

living in a culture that ranked and devalued certain people, this guy. He just saw people as people. When it says his servant was highly valued, the ancient Greek word used here is intomus, which means dear, precious, valuable. It's from where we get the word intimate. In other words, they were close. It kind of gives you a clue that this man of authority was a guy who, like Jesus, also knew how to lead from the bottom up of that list

that I gave you yesterday. Verse 6. So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him, Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you, but say the word and my servant will be healed.

Now that's pretty cool humility. And I love it how this guy acknowledges Jesus' authority right off the back, calls him Lord. And he tells him, he says to him, just say the word. Just say the word. That's all you've got to do. You're so great. You could just do it from right where you're at. You don't even have to come to the house.

I believe you could do like drive-by healings. I believe that you can do anything. That's what flows out of this man's heart. This is what flows out of this man's mouth. Verse 8, for I myself am a man under authority. I love that. Doesn't just say, hey, you know, I know authority. In fact, I'm kind of a big deal myself.

I got all kinds of people who report to me. Instead, he says, I understand authority because I am under authority too. And I also have soldiers under me. I tell this one, go and he goes, and that one come, and he comes. I sit at my servant, do this, and he does it. He's saying to Jesus, if I am who I am and people do what I order them to do, then you being who you are, will have no problem just speaking. the word. Man, I want to display that kind of faith, don't you? A faith that understands God's

authority. A faith that really believes that nothing is impossible for him. A faith that's not afraid to make big ask of God. A faith that's rooted in humility that says, Lord, you know what, you just, you just say the word. Well, let's just push Paul's right there today, and we'll pick it up here tomorrow. But why not today? Come to God with humility. Recognize it. You just say, you just say, he can do anything and just ask him something big and then trust his heart, knowing that he will do whatever is best in the big picture. I'll see you back here tomorrow. I hope you have a great day. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about all the digital

ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.comptych slash daily drive. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out?