SERMON OUTLINE:
Fact: All heard (vs 14-17)
Fact: Israel heard (vs 18-21)
Fact: Israel refused (vs 19-21)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• Nearly a quarter of all bones in our bodies are in our feet.
• There are 26 bones in each foot,
• As well as 33 joints, 19 muscles,
• 10 tendons and 107 ligaments.
• There are approximately 250,000 sweat glands in the feet,
• And on average,
• They excrete around 1 cup of moisture in one day.
• Your feet may just be the most ticklish part of your body.
• Because they contain 8000 nerve endings.
• The average person walks about 150,000 miles in a lifetime,
• 4 times around the earth.
• No wonder some of you ‘old timers’ are looking tired!
Questions:
• How would you feel if I asked you all to take off your shoes,
• And show your feet to the person either side of you?
• Would you be ok with that?
• Or would you be embarrassed?
• You don’t have to answer (although your partner might – lol).
• But anyone here got very sweaty feet?
• Anyone here got a hole in the toe of their socks?
• Or maybe you’re just not very fond of your feet.
• Confession time - I am not a feet person,
• I don’t mind my own,
• But I am not keen on other people’s feet!
• e.g. My wife has never had a foot massage from me!
• The only feet I touch are my own!
• TRANSITION:
• If you are wondering what the connection is to feet?
• Check out verse 15b,
“As it is written:
‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
• So, whatever you think of your physical feet?
• According to this verse,
• You too can have feet that are, ‘beautiful!’
(1). FACT: All Heard (vs 14-17)
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?
As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’
But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”
Ill:
• Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin is unknown to most of us,
• But he has saved countless lives due to his 1959 invention,
• He came up with the idea of,
• The V-type three-point seat/safety belt.
• The Swedish car company could have made millions,
• By licensing the design to their competitors,
• But they decided to gift the design to the world,
• Instead of patenting it for themselves.
• Likewise, the car company Mercedes Benz,
• A number of years ago, produced a very clever advert.
• It showed a Mercedes Car being rammed into a wall,
• In order to reveal how the car’s frame,
• Was designed to protect the passengers in case of accident.
• In the commercial,
• An observer of this crash test,
• Asks the Mercedes spokesperson,
“Why have you not secured a patent on this crash-absorbing design?
Obviously, you’ve given your research to other carmakers, and they are copying you. Why did you do that?”
• The Mercedes spokesperson responded,
• And this is the line that has stuck with me,
• “Some things in life are too important not to share.”
• TRANSITION: When it comes to evangelism.
• We are called to share the gospel because,
• “Some things in life are too important not to share.”
In the verses you looked at last week.
• The apostle Paul has clearly shown,
• That salvation is available for everyone.
• It is a universal offer (vs 11-12), “‘Anyone,” (Jew or Gentile).
• But it is also a conditional offer (vs 13),
• Anyone, Jew or Gentile,
• MUST, “Call on the name of the Lord.”
• And now in verses 14-17 the apostle Paul will expand on this.
Notice:
• The first two verses (vs 14-15) are a series of questions.
• There is no command here.
• These verses are often quoted as a call to mission.
• But missions are not the goal here,
• If mission/evangelism were the goal,
• We would not be finding questions here but commands.
Notice: These questions all contain verbs.
• Verbs of course are doing words or action words,
• These verbs show to us,
• The or the process necessary for salvation.
• Step #1: The gospel begins with sending,
• Step #2: Then there is proclamation,
• Step #3: Then there is hearing.
• Step #4: Then there is believing.
God is sovereign, & people come to faith in a variety of ways.
• e.g. Many Moslems have dreams as their first step to Jesus.
• But the dream is normally phase one,
• They still need the next step and the next step etc.
• e.g. Good News for Everyone (formerly Gideons UK)
• Will have stories of people picking up a Bible in a hotel,
• And coming to faith.
• But someone had to take place that Bible in the hotel etc.
Ill:
• Woody Allen – the Jewish Comic.
• “Years ago, my mother gave me a bullet...a bullet,
• And I put it in my breast pocket.
• Two years after that, I was walking down the street,
• When a berserk evangelist heaved a Gideon bible,
• Out a hotel room window, hitting me in the chest.
• That Bible would have gone through my heart,
• If it wasn't for the bullet.”
• TRANSITION:
• So, God is sovereign,
• And people come to faith in a variety of ways.
• But usually,
• God works through the normal process,
• That is mentioned in these verses.
• Sending, proclaiming, hearing. believing.
Note: ‘Sending.’
• The process starts with God and ends with people.
• God is the one who initiates, begins the process.
• It is God who sends out his people to proclaim the message,
• It is God who speaks through his people as they evangelise.
But notice that each individual person:
• Is responsible as to how they respond to the gospel.
• We as Christians are responsible for sharing the message.
• And those Unsaved people we speak to.
• Are responsible for how they respond to the message.
To back up his reasoning.
• The apostle Paul quotes two Old Testament Bible verses.
• They both come from the prophecy of Isaiah,
In verse 15, the apostle Paul quotes from Isaiah chapter 52 verse 7.
“How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!””
In verse 16, the apostle Paul quotes from Isaiah chapter 53 verse 1.
“Who has believed our message.
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
• Both chapters in Isaiah,
• Are what we call Messianic prophecy.
• In other words, they speak of the Messiah who was to come.
• We know that the Messiah was and is Jesus Christ.
• That is why the apostle Paul can use these quotations,
• With reference to the gospel.
• Because the gospel is always the good news of Jesus Christ!
Now, in their original setting:
• These verses speak,
• Of how God will deliver his people, the Jews,
• From their captivity in Babylon.
• God will set free his people,
• So that they can return back to their homeland, Israel.
• Particularly to Jerusalem,
• Where they will rebuild the city left in shambles.
• In our passage,
• The apostle Paul uses these verses metaphorically,
• They are a picture of how God in the future,
• Will deliver both Jew & Gentile,
• From a bigger enemy than Babylon,
• He will deliver us from a sinful corrupted world.
Ill:
• Past deliverances recorded in the Old Testament,
• Are often applied,
• Or metaphorically used in the New Testament.
• e.g. The Exodus from Egypt,
• Is often used to symbolize spiritual deliverance from sin,
• e.g. And the Passover is used,
• To symbolize the sacrifice of Christ.
• TRANSITION:
• In both quotations,
• The apostle Paul is showing to us,
• That God uses human messengers to proclaim the gospel.
• He has done this in Israel’s past,
• (i.e. As recorded in the Old Testament.)
• He is doing that in the New Testament,
• (i.e. book of Acts),
• He is doing that today.
• (i.e. you and I are Acts chapter 29, 30, 31 etc.)
• As we share the gospel to those who have never heard it.
Ill:
• I love the symbolism of Isaiah chapter 52 verse 7.
• Those who bring the gospel have, “beautiful feet.”
• In Bible times you would wash the feet of guests,
• Who came to visit your house.
• This was good manners.
• Messengers normally travelled by foot in that day.
• So, feet were considered,
• One of the most significant parts of the body.
• And after a long journey,
• Feet may have been cut, bruised, dirty, smelly.
• Yet, if you received good news from your guests,
• Then the messengers’ feet were beautiful!
Ill:
• In the great commission (Matthew chapter 28 verses 16-20).
• We are sent, Jesus said, “go,”
• And we go on the authority of Christ.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go…”
• Here, in Romans chapter 10 verse 15 we are again, “sent,”
• Don’t miss that in verse 15 (it is important!)
• “And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?”
• Whenever we evangelise, we are those who are, “sent.”
• We go on the authority of Christ,
• With the approval of God the Father,
• And in the power of God the Holy Spirit.
• TRANSITION:
• Therefore, we should go with confidence.
• Because our God speaks through his messengers.
• He works in and through ordinary Christians,
• People like you and me!
• So, whenever we proclaim or share the gospel to people,
• It is not just us speaking to people about Christ,
• It is Christ speaking to people through us.
• Let me repeat that for emphasis:
• It is not just us speaking to people about Christ,
• It is Christ speaking to people through us.
• That is why, God can hold people responsible,
• For their response to the gospel,
• Because HE has spoken to them through us!
(2). FACT: Israel Heard (vs 18-21)
“But I ask: did they not hear? Of course they did:
‘Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.’
19 Again I ask: did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,
‘I will make you envious by those who are not a nation.
I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.’
20 And Isaiah boldly says,
‘I was found by those who did not seek me.
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.’
21 But concerning Israel he says,
‘All day long I have held out my hands.
to a disobedient and obstinate people.’.’”
Ill:
• Navy Ship vs. Lighthouse.
• https://youtu.be/ajq8eag4Mvc?si=H-DWIR-XH-1rF8yZ
• https://youtu.be/UoRfE3JH6XY?si=3cZaT4V7zH7gTraJ
• TRANSITION:
• Like that Captain found out, there is always someone bigger,
• And mightier than you!
• Israel had been a disobedient and stubborn people.
• Again and again, they refused to yield and change direction.
• That is why the crashed and failed!
• And in these verses, we see two excuses,
• For Israel’s stubbornness and rejection of the gospel.
Ill:
• In these verses think of the apostle Paul,
• As a top criminal lawyer,
• i.e. Rumpole of the Bailey. Or James Kavanagh QC.
• The lawyer knows his client is guilty,
• But he will still offer up the best defence possible.
• Now despite the lawyers’ best efforts,
• And Israel’s best excuses,
• There is only ever going to be one verdict,
• Israel is found guilty; they are without excuse!
• TRANSITION:
• With that illustration in mind.
• Let’s look at the lawyer (apostle Paul’s) best defence,
• Of the accused, Israel.
• It is presented in the form of two questions.
• Question #1: “Did they not hear?” (vs 18)
• Question #2: “Did Israel not understand?” (vs 19)
QUESTION #1: HAS ISRAEL REALLY HEARD THE GOSPEL? (VS 18).
Ill:
• Suppose you popped into Fareham town centre,
• And went shopping for a few hours.
• When you returned to your car,
• You discovered a parking ticket stuck on the windscreen.
• You are furious,
• Because you thought you had parked in a free zone.
• If…you could prove there was no signage displayed,
• No signage saying, ‘no parking,’
• You would have a good chance of being found innocent.
• And you would not have to pay the fine.
• TRANSITION: Likewise,
• Israel could be found innocent of the charge of rejecting the gospel,
• If they could prove they had never heard the good news.
• So, the question in verse 18.
• Gives the Jewish people the benefit of the doubt,
• But…
• But the answer (vs 18) removes all doubt!
• The apostle Paul says, “Of course they did!”
The apostle Paul then quotes from Psalm 19 verse 4.
• If you don’t know that, Psalm.
• Then the content is all about God speaking,
• God making himself known to people on earth.
• e.g. Verses 1-6:
• God speaks, reveals himself through creation/nature.
• e.g. Verses 7-14:
• God speaks, reveals himself through The Law/Torah.
Ill:
• Psalm 19 reading with images:
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/H-GgSWUhTy8?si=v3l8sid68k0qiv04
• TRANSITION:
• Creation/nature was to all mankind, Jew & Gentile.
• God uses creation to inform us that it had a creator.
• But The Law/Torah (first 5 books of the Bible).
• Was specifically given to the Jewish people/Israel.
• All the earth had received some revelation concerning God.
• But Israel had The Law as well as creation/nature.
• And still they remained a disobedient and stubborn people,
• Refusing to believe in the Messiah God sent to them.
Ill:
• Just for a few minutes,
• Think of a few snapshots from the Gospels & the Book of Acts.
• Example #1:
• Think of the nativity story (Matthew chapter 2 verses 1-6).
• When the Magi visit Herod in his palace.
• We are specifically told,
• “ALL” Jerusalem heard the news of the birth of the baby.
• Now this was not just any baby,
• This was the long-awaited Messiah of Israel, their true King,
• And yet none made the short journey (6 miles),
• To seek him, to see him and to worship Him.
• By contrast to the Magi who were Gentiles came from afar
• (Travelled several years).
• Example #2:
• We are told news of Jesus’ teaching and miracles,
• Spread far and wide,
• He was the talk of the towns, the celebrity preacher,
• Maybe the promised Messiah
• And as with John the Baptist,
• People came from everywhere to hear and see him.
• And for those Jews who did not come to him,
• He went to them.
• Jesus sent out the 12 disciples and later the 70,
• They went to villages of Israel,
• Informing them that the King and his kingdom was at hand.
• (Luke chapter 9 verse 2; & chapter 10 verse1).
• Example #3:
• During festive holidays,
• Jesus presented himself in Jerusalem.
• At that festival there were Jews from all over the world.
• (John chapter 5 verses 1; chapter 7 verses 2, 14; chapter 10 verses 22-23).
• He also presented himself as the Messiah in Jerusalem,
• By his triumphal entry (Matthew chapter 21).
• At a time there were Jews from all over the world.
• Example #4:
• After His death and resurrection on the day of Pentecost,
• Pentecost meant Jerusalem was packed.
• Possibly 4 times its normal population.
• And once again it was full of Jews from all over the world.
• Acts chapter 2 verses 8-11 mentions,
• Jews from fifteen different geographical locations.
• To Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem from around the world.
• Jesus was proclaimed to be the Messiah!
• TRANSITION:
• That is why the apostle Paul,
• Could therefore rightly and dogmatically affirm,
• That all Israel had heard of Jesus,
• And yet they had rejected that revelation.
(3). FACT: Israel Refused (vs 19-21)
“Again, I ask: did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,
‘I will make you envious by those who are not a nation.
I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.’[j]
20 And Isaiah boldly says,
‘I was found by those who did not seek me.
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.’[k]
21 But concerning Israel he says,
‘All day long I have held out my hands.
to a disobedient and obstinate people.’”
Ill:
• Fed up with people telling him he was going deaf,
• A man went to get his hearing tested.
• The audiologist examined the man,
• Then he placed a clock on a desk,
• And asked the man if he could hear it ticking.
• The man replied, "Yes I can."
• The audiologist then placed the clock at the far end of the room,
• And again, asked the man if he could hear it ticking.
• Once again, the man replied, "Yes I can."
• The audiologist then opened the door,
• Walked into another room,
• And again, asked the man if he could hear it ticking.
• Once again, the man replied, "Yes I can."
• The audiologist then told the man,
• "There is nothing wrong with your hearing.
• You just don't listen to people!"
• TRANSITION:
• That was Israel’s problem (and some of us suffer from it too!)
• "There is nothing wrong with our hearing, we just don't listen!"
Note:
• It is ironic, that Israel,
• Would try to excuse themselves because of ignorance.
• After all,
• They thought they were the experts concerning God’s law.
• They were entrusted with the Torah.
• They saw themselves as the custodians of divine revelation.
• i.e. They read it, they memorised it,
• They valued it above all other things,
• So, how could they be ignorant of it?
• But this final excuse is really them "Grasping at straws*”.
(*"Grasping at straws” is an English idiom that describes being desperate and trying any possible, usually unlikely, solution to a problem or situation.)
So, this final excuse is once again a very poor one.
• The argument is,
• Perhaps they heard the gospel but did not understand it.
• i.e. Was the message wrapped up in jargon words,
• So that did not make sense?
• i.e. Was the messenger boring,
• Maybe the preacher or speaker was unable to communicate?
• i.e. Was the message miscommunicated,
• Due to other factors not mentioned?
In responding to this question.
• The apostle Paul quotes several Old Testament scriptures.
• To prove his point and dismiss their objection.
• First, he begins with the words of Moses,
• As recorded in the Torah
• (Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 21).
• And he concludes with Isaiah chapter 65 verses 1-2.
• I love his reply, because this is great reasoning.
• The apostle Paul’s response to their question,
• Comes from two sources - “the Law and the Prophets.”
Ill:
• The phrase the law and the prophets are shorthand,
• It is referring to the entire Hebrew Bible,
• What we/Christians call the Old Testament.
• e.g. Jesus spoke of “the law and the prophets” multiple times,
• Such as when He listed the two greatest commandments.
• (Matthew chapter 22 verse 40).
Quotation #1: Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 21,
“‘I will make you envious by those who are not a nation.
I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.’”
• These words come from a song written by Moses,
• Which was to be sung by the entire nation.
• i.e. To all the people.
• These verses of the song were not good news,
• Perhaps the biggest slap down are the words (vs 19b):
• “By a nation without understanding will I anger you.”
• Those, ‘without understanding’ or ‘foolish.’
• As some translations say, are the Gentiles (non-Jews).
• Jews viewed Gentiles as foolish,
• They were theologically dense,
• Ignorant of the true God,
• And outside the covenant blessings of Abraham.
• And that's the point of that quote.
• The Jews had the Law and they had the prophets,
• And yet they failed to believe!
• By contrast the Gentiles had neither,
• And they did believe.
• So, ignorance is no excuse.
• The Gentiles were ignorant, and believed,
• The Jews were informed but did not!
Ill:
• To say that they couldn't understand it,
• Would be like an "A" student getting an "F" on an exam paper,
• And then complaining to the teacher,
• That that they didn't make the material clear enough.
• So, the teacher points to a student who normally gets an "F,"
• But this time gets an "A" on the test,
• And says, "If he can understand it, anyone can."
• TRANSITION: That kind of logic here.
• If the Gentiles, who weren't very bright theologically,
• Could grasp this truth,
• Then the Jews could hardly say that they couldn't get it.
• Israel could not plead ignorance - they had heard the gospel.
• It was not lack of knowledge,
• The blockage was a lack of submission and obedience,
• That is what led to Israel’s downfall.
Quotation #2: Isaiah chapter 65 verse 1,
“‘I was found by those who did not seek me.
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.’”
• Note more irony here:
• If the Gentiles,
• Who weren't even looking for God, found Him,
• Then God would certainly be available to the Jews,
• Who claimed to have spent all their lifetime seeking him.
Ill:
• Imagine two people visiting a building for the first time.
• The building is in a large city,
• One they have never been to before.
• One person has a map, satnav,
• And advice from a local resident.
• The other poison has nothing but enthusiasm.
• Well, naturally you expect the person,
• Who had the technology to find the building.
• And the other person to be still looking!
• TRANSITION:
• Yet in these verses, the opposite was true.
• The Gentiles without knowledge and privilege found God,
• The Jews with knowledge and privilege,
• Did not because of their hard hearts and rejected him.
Quotation #3: Isaiah chapter 65 verse 2,
“‘All day long I have held out my hands.
to a disobedient and obstinate people.’”
This quotation reminds us again of the grace of God, there is still hope!
• The Jewish people have turned their backs on the true God,
• Insisting on earning their own salvation their own way.
• And there is the Lord, standing, generation after generation,
• Arms extended, encouraging people to come to him.
• The imagery of God’s outstretched hands,
• Conveys a sense of warmth and invitation.
Now don’t miss those words, “ALL DAY LONG I have held out my hands.”
• Here is the beautiful thing about that quotation.
• The day is not over yet.
• It is a beautiful picture of the character of God.
• Here is his patience is “all day long!”
• That day has now stretched.
• For thousands of years of human history
• God is continuing to hold out his hands,
• He is still inviting all people to come.
• (Even this morning – he is calling you home!)
• God’s offer of mercy is not limited to a specific time frame.
• His desire for us to come to him is ongoing.
• So, the chapter closes,
• With this picture of God standing with his arms open,
• Longing to draw Jew & Gentile back to himself,
• And yet,
• Too many people remain disobedient and obstinate,
• They will not come!
