Beautiful Hands and Feet

Introduction:

Hands often tell a great deal about a person.

Are they coarse or smooth?

Muscled or manicured?

Feet also tell a story.

They bear the load and slog through the muck, and therefore we seldom think of them as beautiful.

Yet God declares: “How beautiful are the feet of those… who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15b, NKJV)

Have you ever considered that you are the hands and feet of the gospel?

The Concept: A locomotive is a powerhouse of Motivation (the fire in the engine), but it is useless without the Message (the cargo) and the Means (the tracks that lead to the destination).

Application: Just as the Beech Grove Shops were once the heart of the rail system, providing the means for the country to move, the Church is the "shop" where we are equipped.

The "Feet" Connection: Romans 10:15 talks about the feet that bring the news.

In rail terms, the gospel doesn't help anyone if it stays in the station. Our "feet" are the tracks that carry the hope of Christ into every corner of the world.

Closing Thought: Are we a museum of a stationary engine, or are we laying tracks to the "uttermost parts of the earth"?

The motivation of missions (v. 1-5)

Motivation begins in the heart with desire!

Romans 9:1–3 LSB

1 I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh,

Exodus 32:32 LSB

32 “But now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!”

Motivation is birthed through prayer!

Acts 12:5 LSB

5 So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.

Romans 1:9 NKJV

9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,

Motivation is heightened by understanding!

2 Corinthians 4:3–6 LSB

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus. 6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

The message of missions (v. 5-10)

Man’s attempt at righteousness condemns. (v. 5)

Isaiah 64:6 LSB

6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away.

God’s offer of righteousness redeems. (v. 6-8)

1 John 2:1 LSB

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

Man’s response (v. 9-10)

1 John 4:10 LSB

10 In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Romans 5:8 LSB

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

2 Corinthians 5:15 LSB

15 And He died for all, so that they who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

2 Corinthians 5:17 LSB

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

The mandate for universal appeal (v. 11-13)

This righteousness imparted by God is open without distinction to all.

John 3:16 NKJV

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

2 Peter 3:9 LSB

9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some consider slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Concept: Focus on the Mandate (v. 11-13).

Imagine your mail carrier, doesn't get to decide who is worthy of receiving a letter; he is mandated to deliver it to your house on his route without any distinction.

The Connection: We are the mail carrier and the urgent, life-saving letter is The Gospel.

The Motivation: Knowing that the recipient is in debt or "blinded," and this letter contains the check or the cure.

The Means: The carrier’s bag and their route.

The "Hands and Feet" Connection: Remember the classic "Neither snow nor rain nor heat..." motto.

Our "beautiful feet" are the ones that don't stop walking until the message is delivered to the last house on the block—and the last nation on the map.

The means for worldwide proclamation (v. 14-17)

God has provided the way for all men to be saved, but they will not call upon His name unless they are privileged to hear.

Total People Groups in USA: 614

Total Population: 338,904,325

Unengaged and Unreached:

People Groups: 70

Population: 1,156,485

Engaged yet Unreached:

People Groups: 140

Population: 25,431,775

No Longer Unreached:

People Groups: 404

Population: 312,316,065

Realities:

Dying Daily: 8,259   Dying Daily without Christ: 6,676   80.8% of the Population in the United States die every day without Christ

Indiana Population: 7,012,560

46% of Indiana claims to be Protestant

So Approximately 1 out of every 2 people in Indiana are potentially lost

Indianapolis and greater Metropolitan area Population: 2.6 million

Population in Beech Grove: 14,504

2.2% of the Population to fill the Church

Our own Work

Matthew 28:19–20 LSB

19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Acts 1:8 LSB

8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth.”

Our Joint Work

1 Corinthians 3:5–9 LSB

5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Conclusion:

Just Think: YOU ARE THE HANDS AND FEET BY WHICH GOD HAS DETERMINED TO PROCLAIM HIS GOOD NEWS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD!

Call to Action:

As you pray be the hands and feet of Jesus

As you give be the hands and feet of Jesus

As you go be the hands and feet of Jesus

Is the great price of redemption reflected in our praying and our giving?

This message is adapted from a sermon outline by Ken Hemphill

About the writer: As Ken, national strategist, Empowering Kingdom Growth, and Paula Hemphill visit with Southern Baptists around the country, they share their passion for churches touching the ends of the earth.