Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

The centurion, the character, the miracle – Part 3

By Baba Aladura, Elder (Dr) Israel Akinadewo (Omoeri)
28 October 2018   |   3:22 am
The centurion knew that Jesus Christ could heal his servant, but this faith might not have been noticed by Christ Himself, if the man had not exhibited Christ-like characteristics, that must be present, before our faith could be established for us..

Israel Akinadewo

Verses 6-9 gave a good picture of what transpired: (6)Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. (7)Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. (8)For I am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. (9)When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

The centurion knew that Jesus Christ could heal his servant, but this faith might not have been noticed by Christ Himself, if the man had not exhibited Christ-like characteristics, that must be present, before our faith could be established for us. These include: being humble, having compassion, having forgiving spirit, being spirit-filled at all times, and never allowing things of the world to influence our mind, when we come to God.

Introduction of preachers during church programmes
This is one area preachers of the Word must start to resist, whenever they want to deliver homilies on the pulpit. There should be differentiation between paper presentation during seminars and academic activities and church services. When it comes to sermon in the church, and all our earthly achievements and certifications are being rolled out, it is tantamount to introducing the preachers to God, which was exactly what the elders did, when introducing the centurion to Jesus Christ.

If the preachers could not stop the organisers from going ahead, since it is their church practices, then the responsibility is more on the preachers to re-introduce themselves as “a sinner,” “a man, who is not worthy to stand in the presence of the congregation to preach the Word,” “a man, who is even worse than the people, that he is about to preach to,” among others. It is through this that we will not find ourselves in the same predicament that King Herod found himself.

Conclusion
Even to get something from our earthly parents, we must show and exhibit the characteristics of responsible children. In addition, a child cannot come out to say that he is more knowledgeable, by introducing himself to his parents, as if they never knew him. Be that as it may, good Christians must never allow the praises of man put them in collision with their Creator. Therefore, allowing people to project our earthly achievements in the house of prayer will not earn us anything positive from God, but spiritual humiliation. This means that without good characters, we cannot establish faith and without faith, we cannot get anything from God.
Remain permanently under God’s banner!
Address: Motailatu Close, Motailatu Bus Stop, Beside Mayfair Gardens, Lekki-Ajah Express Way,Lagos. motailatuchurchglory@gmail.com. Tel: 09078638166; 09055837204

In this article

0 Comments