"Sickness and suffering are like soldiers under God’s command and
subject to obey the faithful in the name of Jesus"

 

Food for thought from the book of Matthew 8: 2-13

"God cares for the needy, but he loves more those who care for the needy”

Like a pastor over a congregation of a hundred people, so a Centurion is a man in charge over one hundred soldiers. Pastors and Centurions are men under authority with authority over other men. In and by themselves these two men are just men at best and one more among their peers that practically speaking they are one hundred and one soldiers or one hundred and one members or as the one hundred and one Dalmatians. That is, one hundred plus one units of the same kind.

A Centurion, a Pastor or a delta Dalmatian dog are not there among their number to "bark" orders, advice, or warnings in time of sickness, need or danger. No! Soon in life, men in authority realize that authority without power is useless.
A caring leader of men will be loved and respected by his followers as they show love and care to the needs of those under him in their time of need.

Therefore the saying is true, "People, soldiers or even dogs do not care how much you know until they know of how much you care". A sick soldier, a suffering believer or a dog of the pack in danger, are not there in need of instruction, advice or training, no! They are there in need of help and care beyond their capacity to help themselves. That is why, a friend in times of need is a friend indeed".

This reminds me of how the late Martin Luther King use to express his feelings toward his silent friends by this quote, “In the end we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends”. He seem to be saying in different words that many will be saying to his friends in heaven many times over, “I am sorry for my silence”. 

 

The fellowship of the sayings is our inheritance while on earth. It is an inheritance to be expended it on earth where the need of fellowship is most helpful.  In heaven we will have plenty and more to enjoy but not so much in need of it because Jesus will fill it all in all including my wants and needs, plus many more I did not even imagine possible to desire and have. Indifference and silence are  not the trade mark of God who loves and promotes fellowship among those who are reconciled with him and with one another.

 

Those who have authority must also have power to administer authority for the common good. Where does authority come from?
The source of power is the same source from where Authority comes from.
There is something wrong when one has authority but has no power at all.

Let me illustrate the idea, I have two outlets in the counter of my kitchen that I use for several electric small appliances, the rice maker, the pot, the toaster and the coffee maker. I unplug one of them to plug the other.

One day I unplug the coffee maker and I plug the toaster and put two slices of frozen bread in the toaster and pushed down the button switch of the toaster expecting the toaster to toast the slices of bread. It never happened, I wiggle around the cord in the outlet hoping to get the toaster do its job, but no response. 

In frustration I unplugged and plunged again the toaster only to find out that the cord I was plugging and wiggling was not that of the toaster but of the rice maker. Good that I was alone other wise I would have been embarrassed and turned red as the neck of a male turkey.

I had the authority to plug and unplug but I did not have the power to toast the two slice of bread even to look warmness. I did not have the power because I was not plugged to the source of power. Are you a man or woman of authority? Do you have the power to “toast”? Are you plugged in, or are you toasting in the power of the flesh?

 

Before Jesus left earth to go back home to his father in heaven, he met with his disciples on a mountain of Galilee. Then Jesus came to them and said, 

 

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father in the name of the Son and in the name of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the ages” 

 

Jesus is the incarnation of all authority and he commands his followers to go in his name to the whole world to do his will and to do greater things than him. 

 

What about power? You may ask.

The outlet or power is Jesus himself and his authoritative word whereby if we plug into his word by faith in a childlike manner by taking Jesus at his word we come into alignment with God where all things are a prayer away.

If we do so, we will live to see the light of the power of God in action and immediately the love and power of God flowing and confirming to us the truth that, “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world”.

Power and authority go together linked by the golden ring of faith.
Notice that Jesus only mentions, “all Authority is given to me” in the great commission. Jesus did not need to speak separately about power and authority as if it would be another coin, because it is the other face of the same coin. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the word was God. All things were made by him and nothing that is made was made without him and in him there was love, light and life. The word of Jesus had power and authority.

The Roman Centurion was a pagan soldier, but his eyes were open by grace and he knew enough about Jesus to come confidently in a childlike manner as if bringing a bucket for a gallon of power to shower his servant back to health. 

 

When Jesus shows willingness to go to heal his servant, the centurion did not even want Jesus to come under his roof and touch his servant or rub some ointment to alleviate his servant’s pain and excruciating suffering.  

 

While many would have been eager to the see the evidence of Jesus’ deity, the Centurion makes it easy the work of Jesus by believing enough to save him time and effort to go all the way to his pagan house and says humbly the following, 

 

“I do not deserve for you to come under my roof.  But just say the word and my servant will be healed for I myself am a man under authority with soldiers under me, I tell this one “Go” and he goes, and I tell the other one “come” and he “comes”. I say to my servant “do this” and he does it”. Jesus heard this and he was astonished with his great faith

I can only imagine Jesus turning his face toward the centurion for a closer look at him in astonishment with a great smile that beamed the light of the Sun as he placed his arm over the shoulder of the centurion as a well-pleased father with the report card of his little boy.

Ever since I first read this story I have chosen it as a self fulfilled prophecy for myself and I have focused with a laser beam high definition focus to make Jesus smile. I would give anything and everything to make Jesus smile on my account.  My tears of pain and suffering dried immediately at the warmth of his arm on my shoulder and my soul jumps out of my skin when I heard his voice whispering beautiful things never heard before that keep me closer to him year after year.

When I find myself and those whom I love in pain and suffering, I go silently to the Holy of Holies and stay there saying nothing but YES to what my soul knows well that his will be done as in heaven. While there, I think in the curtain ripped from top to bottom and I take it all in and frantically write as if there is no tomorrow. My silent thoughts in mere words of men are not enough to express as you can appreciate them even now, let alone to communicate in its true wealth. 

 

I look forward every morning at the cool of the day my time with the Lord. As soon as I hear his voice whispering his words into my ears, I smell his breath so near to my nostrils us when he first blew life into me in Adam back in the garden. 

 

At those romantic times with the Father, I can not wait for the day when Jesus himself will come in the beauty of his holiness in perfect love and will cause my heart to stop and takes from me the only thing that's mine and his that's breath.
"The last hour when he will take my breath away" and my lungs will retire from their faithful service I also will bow my head down like Jesus in the cross having breathed my last.

Believe like the Centurion!
Believe like the leper man!
Believe like a child!
Take Jesus at his word!
Just believe with all your heart and it will be done just as you believe it would".
And healing will come immediately! "The blank check is signed by Jesus, you write the amount as you see fit". Your account has been canceled in full.

I am not a good patient to my doctors. I hear them but always end up doctoring myself. I hate medicine. I do not trust doctors who do not pray. I do not trust preachers who do not have power. I hunger for the supernatural as the hummingbird hungers for the nectar and the bee for honey. I do not like restaurant food as much as home cooked meals made with love. Like the Centurion I am also a man under authority in the kitchen for I have learned to cook from the best. In the same way I like to serve also spiritual food of my own liking before serving to others.

Faith and experience makes me appreciate what I cook and write. At the end my fellowship around the table is with those who have developed an acquired taste in a childlike manner.

If I would have my way, and a healthy liver, I would like to have a cup of wine before my meal from the leftover wine from the wedding of Canaan with grilled fresh fish from the Sea of Galilee caught and cooked by Jesus, which probably ran out as soon as the hungry overnight fishermen hit the shore.

Nowadays I will settle for second best and that is some of the 153 large fish caught by the disciples but grilled in the same grill that Jesus fixed the meal for his followers. My taste buds have been spoiled for good. I cannot settle for anything less than good food and anointed sermons prepared in the comfort of the open kitchen in the Holy of Holies.

Please give me a side order of some barley loaves of bread from the brown bag of the Toddlers who fed with Jesus five thousand men. I know there are twelve baskets of left over. As a dessert I would like the local fruit of the season, grapes and figs. I like figs that started to blossom the year of my birth and are now in full bloom for us the baby boomers, whose generation will not pass until Jesus returns. 

Dear Martha, you are my favorite waitress and I would like you to please bring us some quail nuggets as appetizer because I know you have plenty of it from the Sinai desert. I am a diabetic and I cannot wait to eat, so please bring as a bowl of manna immediately to be munching as we wait for our meal?
The fresh water of the well of Jacob would be fine, thank you. No need of ice or lemon please and leave the pitcher of water on the table. It sure is hot today.
By the way, we commend you for your taste of the flower arrangement; those are beautiful lilies from the valley of Sharon.

Ups! I am sorry my friends, I forget to wrap up our "Food for Thought" of today.
There are two things that amazed Jesus, the first one is “great faith” from those who were not expected to have any and the “lack of faith” from those who should have faith but they do not have any. I rather sin of presumption than of lack of faith and live as if Jesus had not died and resurrected to give me faith as a gift and with it all thing and abundantly.

I heard a preacher and some of his followers ask repeatedly the question why are you here? As some rhetorical question but my answer to that question is this. I go to church in the hope of once again hear the supernatural voice of God in Jesus and smell the breath of Jesus and feed my soul with anointed sermons full of authority and power. “The kingdom of God is not a matter of words but of power”.

I want to see the "soldiers" of pain and suffering being removed in the power and authority of the word of Jesus back to the barracks where they belong.

I want to see Pastors like Centurion caring like good shepherds care and not only as hired shepherds do or shepherd dogs bark and bite their skinny little legs, forcing them to do their will.

A Centurion of Jesus who cares for his fellow skinny-legged lamb of Jesus.

 

Gerry Gutierrez