How Beautiful are the Feet

Introduction

Have you ever looked at someones feet and thought, “Wow! What beautiful feet?! The way the toes touch each other. The way the toes get smaller. The smell of the feet…”

Alright we’re going to stop there. A couple weeks ago I shared a quote with yall, “It’s only awkward if you make it awkward.” Well there are exceptions to this and talking about feet this way is an exception.

Did you know that the Bible actually talks about feet in Romans 10. What part of “feet” is Paul admiring? There is no way he is literally talking about peoples feet.

Let’s read Romans 10:13–15 together and discover the message of this passage.

13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

I shared the title “How Beautiful are the Feet.” That is only the beginning of that phrase. The complete phrase is “How Beautiful are the Feet of Those Who Go!” The Bible is not talking about literal feet here, which we will get into. The Bible is literally talking about those who will GO!

As we work through this passage, you will notice that the author works backwards. We start at the one who calls on the name of the Lord to be saved and work backwards in that process to the one who is sent.

The essence of Paul’s argument is seen if we put his six verbs in the opposite order: Christ sends servants; servants preach; people hear; hearers believe; believers call; and those who call are saved.”

As we go through this passage will you ask yourself the question, “Have you made a faith move to the sending opportunity?” Let’s look at the first point

To Call You Must First Believe

The moment of salvation for every person is the moment they call upon the name of the Lord. The Bible says that everyone who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Have you ever called upon the name of the Lord? What does it mean to call upon the name of the Lord?

Those who call on the name of the Lord are those who recognize Him as Savior. The first-time calling upon Jesus’ name for forgiveness of sins is calling on the name of the Lord is vital to spiritual life. Ultimately, calling on the name of the Lord is a sign of humility and dependence on God our Creator and Redeemer.

How can someone call upon the name of the Lord if you don’t first believe in Him?

The question “Do you believe in Jesus?” is asking far more than “Do you believe that Jesus Christ existed/exists?” The true meaning of the question is “Do you believe Jesus Christ is who the Bible says He is, and are you trusting Him as your Savior?”

How can you believe if you never hear?

To Believe You Must First Hear

There is nothing that you believe in that you haven’t first heard. There might even be things that you believe in that you have never seen. Is there anyone that believes in Big Foot, Aliens, Major Conspiracy Theories, Earth is flat. These kind of ideas people believe in but have never seen, but they have heard.

Talking about the Gospel, people have seen the resurrection of Jesus and recorded it in Scripture. Now we have the message that has repeatedly been heard through every generation. Apart from hearing the message no one can believe. People do not believe in one of whom they have never heard.

No one can hear unless someone shares!

To Hear Someone Must Share

For people to hear the Gospel, the church must be active in sharing. There is an entire world out there that the church has been called to share to. Often times we fail to share for fear of embarrassment. I don’t know how we can leverage hell for just a little bit of embarrassment. I heard this from a friend, “We can’t expect to grow in our faith, if we don’t step out of our comfort zone.” (Valencia Fussell)

We who have been bought and set apart by the blood of Jesus must be eager to share what He has entrusted to us - salvation! Sharing should be the lifestyle of every true Christian. We’ve been given a great gift, and our Master left us with clear instructions: “Go into all the world and make disciples of every nation” (Matthew 28:19).

Sharing is an act of love

Sharing builds our faith

Sharing provides eternal benefits

Sharing is an overflow of the world within us

Sharing pleases the Lord

A question that will come to many of us is, “Where do I share?”

~Share in school

~Share with sports team/club/extra activities

~Share with family

~THE BEST PLACE TO SHARE IS TO SHARE WHERE YOU ARE SENT

To Share Someone Must be Sent

For someone to share, they must first be sent. Where are you sent?

John 17:18 “18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”

Acts 1:8 “8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jerusalem — Neighborhood

Judea — Region (state)

Samaria — Nation

Ends of the Earth — Global

Once we know where we are sent, we can go when there is an opportunity. Most of your opportunities will appear in the equivalent of our Jerusalem (neighborhood/community around you). There is an opportunity coming up this summer for you to be sent in our Judea equivalent (Savannah, GA.) We have a team leaving in a few weeks to the ends of the earth (Argentina).

Northside has around 10 mission trips planned this year. Not every trip is for you to be sent on, but as Christians we are all called! An opportunity to be sent is an opportunity to accept!

When it comes to being sent, the greatest fear is how will I be able afford it?

Your first thought cannot be how can I afford it? We cannot get lost in knowing the full plan and just trust the Provider. If God is moving in your life to GO, He will provide the resources for you to go.

The decision to GO doesn’t start with “Am I going to be able to afford it?” The decision to GO starts with your YES TO JESUS. Does He have your yes? If He does, are you going to commit tonight?

The Bible says, “How beautiful are the feet are those who share the Gospel.” This is a quote from Isaiah 52:7. This is a reference to people traveling in Biblical times. They would travel on foot everywhere they went. Their sandals would get worn from all the travel. While their feet would literally look dirty from the travel, the work they accomplished in sharing the Gospel was beautiful.

CLOSING

Here in a few minutes we are going to have a moment to respond. There will be a time to build an alter before the Lord and commit your YES to Him.

This is what I want you to do, if you have already committed your YES to God for a mission trip, I want you to come to the front and pray for the trip you are going on. (Argentina or Savannah)

There may be some tonight who want to commit their YES to God, in faith He will provide the resources. The trip that is available for everyone you may want to commit your YES to is Savannah. If this is you, I want you to make your way to the front and pray to God about the decision you are making.

There may be someone tonight that needs to make the decisions from the first point and CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD TO BE SAVED.