“Beautiful Feet”
Text: Romans 10:13-15
Intro:
The feet in the Word of God are often spoken about with a spiritual significance.
For example –
In Exodus Chapter 3, the Lord calls out to Moses from the burning bush.
Exodus 3:4-5, “And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”
And just before Joshua us given the command by the Lord to take the city of Jericho, the captain of the Lord’s host appears to him.
See Joshua 5:13-15. – v. 15 “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot”
The spiritual significance of both Moses and Joshua being told to take off their shoes is to show that they had to come to the Lord barefooted.
In other words, neither one of them anything of themselves that impressed a holy God.
Remember, the same goes for born again believer.
In order for the Lord to use us and for us to be able to walk with the Lord, we have to step out of our old life and step in to our new life in Christ.
We do this by taking off the shoes the world has given us and putting on the spiritual shoes God has given us.
Whereby we are to walk the rest of our lives according to His will.
You see when we get saved then we become a new creature.
2 Cor. 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Some other examples of the spiritual significance of the feet in the Word of God.
Worship is shown by falling at another’s feet.
We often see in the Bible incidences where people came and fell down and worshipped at the feet of Jesus.
Reverence was expressed by kissing another’s feet as the woman did when Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house – Luke 7:38.
Subjugation of the enemy was expressed by placing the one’s foot on the enemy’s neck.
For example – Joshua told the captains of the men to put their feet upon the necks of the captured Amorite kings.
Psalm 110:1, God the Father promises God the Son that He will make His enemies His footstool.
To be at any one’s feet is used to express being at one’s service, following him, or receiving his instructions.
Acts 22:3, The Apostle tells us – “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.”
Luke 10:39, we are told that – “Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.”
Psalm 40:2, the psalmist wrote, “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”
Expresses the idea of stability in ones Christian’s life.
Psalm 31:8, “thou hast set my feet in a large room.”
Denotes liberty.
“Sliding of the feet” – denotes yielding to temptation.
“Treading under foot” – implies complete destruction.
“To wash or dip one’s feet in oil or butter” – signified one possessed abundance or to be prosperous.
“To dip one’s foot in your enemy’s blood” signified victory.
“To keep the feet of the saints” – meant to preserve them from stumbling.
“To set one’s foot in a place” signified to take possession.
“The washing of another’s feet” expressed humility and servitude.
“Submission to the washing of your feet” was a sign of confession of the need for cleansing and an affirmation of faith that when the Messiah came, He would provide cleansing for His people.
So, in John 13, where Jesus washes the feet of His disciples this shows us the Son of God humbles himself and was obedient to the will of the Father.
He became a servant, so he could literally cleanse us from all our iniquites.
This morning we are going to look at the characteristics of “Beautiful Feet.”
In other words what the spiritual characteristics of the believer’s feet should be.
I. To Have Beautiful Feet - They Should Be Set Upon The ROCK
You may ask what Rock is that?
If asked a Roman Catholic he would tell you based on his wresting of the scriptures in Mt 16:18, that he was the Apostle Peter.
If you asked a Mormon, he would tell you the rock is the Book of Mormons or their founder Joseph Smith.
If you asked a Jehovah Witness, he would tell you the rock is one of their founders Pastor Russell or judge Rutherford.
The Christian Scientists would tell you it is their founded Mary Baker Eddy and her divine writings.
The Buddhist would tell you the rock is Buddha.
The Moslem would tell you the rock is Muhammad or the Koran.
However, the scriptures tell us that the rock in Matthew 16:18 is reference to the Lord Jesus.
Praise God! The church is built upon the Lord Jesus Christ and not a sinful man like Peter.
Each individual Christian is part of the church or the body of Christ.
Each Christian’s feet should be set upon the ROCK, the Lord Jesus in order to have Beautiful Feet.
All through the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ is referred to as our spiritual foundation.
Isa. 28:16, “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.”
1 Cor. 3:11, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
Mt. 21:42, “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?”
Eph. 2:20, “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;”
You see my dear friend there are two foundations in which to choose to build upon.
See Mt. 7:24-27.
Which foundation are your feet set upon?
Are they set upon the rock, the Lord Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.
Or are they set upon the sand, the quick sand of life.
It looks real good to the eye but when a trial comes your way and try to stand upon it you falls.
You see this foundation is built upon the devil and his crowd.
Someday you will fall right into the lake of fire with the devil and his angels.
The only way you can lay your spiritual foundation and set your feet upon the rock the real Rock, the Lord Jesus Christ and not Apostle Peter who Christ said he was an offence to him, called him Satan and told him to get behind me.
Is by repenting of your sins and trusting in the shed blood of Jesus Christ and nothing else to pay for your sins and take you to heaven.
If you have never called upon His name won’t you do that today!
II. To Have Beautiful Feet – They Should Be Directed By The Lord
Often times a person gets saved but ends up living most of his life out of the will of God.
Even though a person’s feet are set upon the Rock, the Lord Jesus Christ, they can still wander in wilderness of life like the children Israel did because of their unbelief.
Not believing what the Lord said He would do.
The Bible has a lot to say about steps of the saint and how he is to walk.
We are told many times in the scriptures not to turn aside either to the right or the left.
You see as Christians we are to walk in this world with spiritual blinders.
We are always to be looking straight ahead with our eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
However, many of us try to look around those spiritual blinders to get a glimpse of world.
Some of us get so backslidden that we take the spiritual blinders off.
We allow our eyes to lust after the things of this world.
Just as old Lot did when he lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered.
He ended up choosing the plains of Jordan, then he pitched his tent toward Sodom and ended up smack dap in the middle of Sodom.
Lot took his eyes off the Lord and no longer allowed Him to direct his steps.
The scriptures are just so rich in instructing the believer to allow the Lord to direct his steps.
For example:
Psalm 18:36, “Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.”
The Word of God tells us here that if we allow the Lord to direct our steps we will not fall into sin.
Psalm 37:23, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.”
The Bible tells us that the Lord is delighted when we allow Him to direct our steps.
Proverbs 4:12, “When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.”
We can be assured when we allow the Lord to direct our steps, we are on the right path and no matter what the world throws in our way we will not stumble or fall.
We have to be very careful because our flesh is still unsaved and wants to control or direct our steps.
We told this in Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.”
We are to allow the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our steps as the Bible says, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
How are your steps being directed?
Are you trying to walk in the steps of the Saviour?
Are you stepping in the light.
Or are you walking “according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air”
Therefore, stepping in the dark.
If your steps are being directed by the Lord then this should be the characteristics of your walk.
You should be walking in newness of life.
Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
You should be walking by faith
2 Cor. 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”
You should be walking in the Spirit
Gal. 5:16, “…Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
Your walk should be a walk of love
Eph. 5:2, “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us…”
You should be walking cautiously
Eph. 5:15, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,”
Your walk should be one of illumination with nothing to hide
1 Jn 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
Your walk should be one of Christlikeness
1 Jn. 2:6, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
To Have Beautiful Feet – They Must Be Shod With the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace.
In other words your feet should have on them shoes which are spiritually prepared,
The Bible tells us in Eph. 6:15, that one of the pieces of spiritual armor we are to put is to shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
You see my dear friend before you can preach the gospel of peace you must be spiritual prepared.
First, you must abandon the idols in your life.
The first commandment of the ten commandments in Exodus 20:3, tells us “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”
The second commandment of the ten as found in Exodus 20:4, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”
My dear friend any time you put something between you and God it is an idol.
It does not have to be a golden calf or a statue of Mary.
It could be your family, your job, your education, your investments.
The Apostle John warns us in 1 Jn. 5:21, “Little children keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
